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CIHM/ICMH 

MicroficI 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institut*  for  Historical  Microraproductions  /  Inatitut  Canadian  da  microraprodiTctions  historiquaa 


:\ 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notas/Notas  tachniquas  at  bibliographiquas 


Tha  Instituta  has  attamptad  to  obtain  tha  bast 
original  copy  availabia  for  filming.  Faaturas  of  this 
copy  which  may  ba  bibliographically  uniqua, 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagas  in  tha 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


D 


D 


D 


D 
D 
0 


D 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


r~~|    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagte 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restauria  et/ou  pelliculte 


I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  giographiquas  en  couleur 


□    Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
Relit  avac  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  re  iiura  serrie  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intirieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certainas  pages  blanches  aJoutAes 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissant  dans  le  taxta. 
mais,  lorsqua  cela  Atait  possible,  ces  pas  js  n'ont 
pas  M  filmAes. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplAmentairas: 


The 
tot! 


L'Institut  a  microfilm*  la  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  At*  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique.  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mAthoda  normale  de  f ilmage 
sont  indiqute  ci-dessous. 


I     I   Coloured  pages/ 


D 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagtes 

Pages  restored  and/oi 

Pages  restaurtes  et/ou  pellicuMes 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxet 
Pages  dAcolortes.  tachetAes  ou  piquies 


I — I    Pages  damaged/ 

r~1   Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

rri    Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 


The 
posi 
ofti 
film 


Orifl 

begl 

the 

sion 

othf 

first 

sion 

oril 


□   Pages  detached/ 
Pages  ditachies 

0Showthrough/ 
Transparence 


Transpar 

Quality  c 

Quality  inAgale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  matarii 
Comprend  du  material  suppMmcntaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


I     I   Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I     I    Includes  supplementary  material/ 

I — I    Only  edition  available/ 


Tha 
shal 
TINI 
whi( 

MaF 
diffi 
antii 
beg 
righ 
reqi 
met 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc..  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalament  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata.  une  pelure, 
etc..  ont  M  filmAes  k  nouveau  de  fapon  A 
obtenir  la  mailleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film*  au  teux  de  rMuction  indiquA  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

X 

12X 

16X 

20X 

24X 

28X 

32X 

"^jap^F 


Th«  copy  filtn«d  h«r«  has  bMn  r«produc«d  thanks 
to  tho  gonorosity  of: 

La  BibliotMqiM  da  la  Villa  da  Montreal 


L'oxomplairo  filmA  fut  roprodult  grioo  i  la 
g4n4ro«itA  do: 

La  BiUiothAqua  da  la  Villa  da  MontrM 


The  imagos  appearing  here  are  the  beet  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  In  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  speclfteations. 


Les  images  suh^antes  ont  At*  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettet*  de  rexemplaire  f ilmt.  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
fllmaga. 


Originel  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  snding  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


LAS  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimte  sont  filmte  en  commen^ant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
derniAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmte  en  commen9ant  par  la 
premiAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — ►  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparattra  sur  la 
derniAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  «►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  ▼  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  In  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  end  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
requirsd.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
filmAs  A  des  taux  de  rAduction  diff Arents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atro 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichA,  11  est  filmA  A  partir 
de  i'angie  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'Images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mAthodo. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

I S  (^^n 


35292 
AMERICAN     NOTES 


Z 


roR 


G  E  N  E  II  A  T.    C  I  R  C  U  T>  A  T  I  0  N. 


BY    CHARLES    DICKENS. 


.{,1 


NEW-YORK: 
PUBLISHED  BY  HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  82  CLIFF-ST. 

184  2. 


'^'     >y.d 


'•«r  -«^'' .y 


I    DEDICATE 
TO     THOSE     FRIENDS     OF     MINE 

IN    AMERICA 

WHO, 
;iVlNG    aiE    A    WELCOME    I    MUST    EVEU    GRATEFULLY    AND 
PROUDLY    REMEMBER, 
LEFT     MY     JUDGMENT 

A  N  D    W  H  O, 
LOVING    THEIR  COUNTRY,    CAN   BEAR    THE    TRUTH, 
WHEN    IT   IS   TOLD    GOOD-HUMOUREDLY, 
AND    IN   A    KIND   SPIRIT. 


^1 


I 


I' 


n 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEIl  I. 
GoiNo  Away. 

CHAPTER  TI. 
The  Passage  Out. 

CHAPTER  III. 

DoSTON. 

CHAPTi:R  IV. 
An  American  Railiioad.     Lowkl  and  its  Factory  System. 

CHAPTER  V. 

"Worcester.     The  Connecticut   Rivf.u.      Haiitfoiid.     Xevt-IIaven.     New-TIaven  to 

iNew-Youk. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

New-Yduic. 

CHAPTER  VH. 
Philadelphia,  and  its  Solitary  Prison. 

CHAPTER  VI H. 
Washington.     The  Leoisi,ati;re — and  the  President's  House.   . 

CHAPTER  IX. 
A  Night  Steamer  on  the  Potomac  JIiver.     A   Virginia  Road,  and  a  Bl\ck  Driver. 
Richmond.     Baltimore.     The  Harrisburgu  Mail,  and  a  Glimpse  of  the  City. 
A  Canal  Boat. 

CHAPTER  X. 
Some  farfher  Account  of  the  Canal  Boat,  its  Domestic  Economy,  and  its  Passen- 
gers.    Journey  to  Pittsburg  across  the  Alleghany  Mountains.     Pittsburg. 

CHAPTER  XI. 
From  Pittsburg  to  Cincinnati  in  a  Western  Steamboat.     Cincinnati. 

CHAPTER  XII. 
From  Cincinnati  to  Louisville  in  another  Steamboat:  and  from  Louisville  to  St. 

Louis  in  another.     St.  Louis. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
A  Jaunt  to  the  Looking-glass  Prairie  and  back. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Akturn  to  Cincinnati.     A    Stage-coach  Ride   from  that  Citt  to  Columbus,  and 

THENCE  to  Sandusky.     So,  by  Lake  Erie,  to  the  Falls  of  Niagara. 

CHAPTER  XVL 

I»  Canada  ;  Toronto  ;  Kingston  ;   Montrkal  ;   Quebec  ;   St.  Johns.     In  the  United 

States  again  ;  Lebanon  ;  the  Shaker  Village  ;  and  West  Point. 

CHAPTER  XV[. 

The  Passage  Homr. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Slavery. 

CHAPTKR  XVHf. 
Concluding  Re^mrks. 


«* 


e\v-TIavem  to 


ISB. 


Bi,  vcK  Driver. 

OF    THE    ClTV. 


in  ITS  Passbn- 

ITTSBUKO. 


CINNATI. 


ISTILLE   TO  St. 


Columbus,  and 

AGARA. 


N  THE  United 

OINT. 


T/ 


7  --» 

■  C  V   ^ 


f 

^7/ 


I 


) 


NOTES    ON    AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

OOINQ  AW  AT. 

I  aHALL  never  forget  the  one  fourth  serious 
and  three  fourths  comical  astonishment  with 
which,  on  the  morning  of  the  third  of  January, 
eighteen  hundred  and  (brty-two,  I  opened  the 
door  of,  and  put  my  head  into,  a  "  stateroom"  on 
board  the  Britannia  steam-packet,  twelve  hun- 
dred tons  per  register,  bound  for  Halifax  and 
Boston,  and  carrying  h ir  majesty's  mails. 

That  this  stateroom  had  been  specially  enga- 
ged for  "  Charles  Dick>ins,  Esquire,  and  Lady," 
was  rendered  sufficient  .y  clear,  even  to  my  scar- 
ed intellect,  by  a  very  small  manuscript  an- 
nouncing the  lact,  which  was  pinned  on  a  very 
flat  quilt,  covering  a  very  thin  mattress,  spread 
like  a  surgical  plaster  on  a  most  inaccessible 
shelf.  But  that  this  was  the  stateroom  concern- 
ing which,  Charles  Dickens,  Esquire,  and  Lady, 
had  held  daily  and  nightly  conferences  for  at 
least  four  months  preceding :  that  this  could  by 
any  possibility  be  that  small  snug  chamber  of 
the  imagination,  which  Charles  Dickens,  Es- 
quire, with  the  spirit  of  prophecy  strong  upon 
him,  nad  always  loretold  would  contain,  at  least, 
one  little  sofa,  and  which  his  lady,  with  a  modest 
yet  most  magnificent  sense  of  its  limited  dimen- 
sions, had,  from  the  first,  opined  would  not  hold 
more  than  two  enormous  portmanteaus  in  some 
odd  comer  out  of  sight  (portmanteaus  which 
could  now  no  more  be  got  in  at  the  door,  not  to 
say  stowed  away,  than  a  giraffe  could  be  per- 
suaded or  forced  into  a  flower-pot) :  that  this  ut- 
terly impracticable,  thoroughly  hopeless,  and 
profoundly  preposterous  box,  had  the  remotest 
reference  to,  or  connexion  with,  those  chaste  and 
pretty,  not  to  say  gorgeous  little  bowers,  sketched 
by  a  masterly  hand,  in  the  highly  varnished  lith- 
ographic plan  hanging  up  in  the  agent's  count- 
Llg-house  in  the  city  of  London :  that  this  room 
of  state^  in  short,  could  be  anything  but  a  pleas- 
ant fiction  and  cheerful  jest  of  the  captain^s,  in- 
vented and  put  in  practice  for  the  better  relish 
and  enjoyment  of  the  real  stateroom  presently  to 
be  disclosed:  these  were  truths  which  I  really 
could  not,  for  the  moment,  bring  my  mind  at  all 
to  bear  upon  or  comprehend.  And  I  sat  down 
upon  a  kind  of  horsehair  slab,  or  perch,  of  which 
there  were  two  within ;  and  looked,  without  any 
expression  of  countenance  whatever,  at  some 
friends  who  had  come  on  board  with  us,  and  who 
were  crushing  their  faces  into  all  manner  of 
shapes  by  endeavouring  to  squeeze  them  thi'ough 
the  small  doorway. 

We  had  experienced  a  pretty  smart  shock  be- 
fore coming  below,  wiiich,  but  that  we  were  the 
most  sanguine  people  living,  might  have  pre- 
pared us  for  the  worst.  The  imaginative  artist 
to  whom  I  have  already  made  allusion,  has  de- 
picted, in  the  same  great  work,  a  chamber  of  al- 
most interminable  perspective,  furnished,  as  Mr. 
HobiBs  would  say,  in  a  style  of  more  than  East- 


em  splendour,  and  filled  (but  not  conveniently 
so)  with  groups  of  ladies  and  gentlemen^  in  the 
very  highest  state  of  enjoyment  and  vivacity. 
Belore  descending  into  the  bowels  of  the  ship, 
we  had  passed  from  the  deck  into  a  long,  narroir 
apartment,  not  unlike  a  gigantic  hearse  with 
windows  in  the  sides ;  havmg  at  the  upper  end  a 
melancholy  stove,  at  which  three  or  four  chill/ 
stewards  were  warming  their  hands,  while  on 
either  side,  extending  down  its  whole  dreaiy 
length,  was  a  long,  long  table,  over  each  of 
which  a  rack,  fixed  to  the  low  roof,  and  stuc> 
full  of  drinking-glasses  and  cruet-stands,  hinteu 
dismally  at  rolling  seas  and  heavy  weather.  I 
had  not,  at  that  time,  seen  the  ideal  presentment 
of  this  chamber,  which  has  since  gratified  me  so 
much,  but  I  observed  that  one  of  our  friends  who 
had  made  the  arrangements  for  our  voyage,  turn- 
ed pale  on  entering,  retreated  on  the  friend  be- 
hind him,  smote  his  forehead  involuntarily,  and 
said,  below  his  breath,  *'  Impossible !  it  cannot 
be !"  or  words  to  that  effect.  He  recovered  him- 
self, however,  by  a  great  effort,  and  after  a  pr&. 
paratory  cough  or  two,  cried,  with  a  ghastly 
smile,  which  is  still  before  me,  looking  at  the 
same  time  round  the  walls, «' Ha!  the  breakfast- 
room,  steward— eh  1"  We  all  foresaw  what  the 
answer  must  be;  we  knew  the  agony  he  suffer- 
ed. He  had  often  spoken  of  the  saloon}  had  ta- 
ken in  and  lived  upon  the  pictorial  idea:  had 
usually  given  us  to  understand,  at  home,  that  to 
form  a  just  conception  of  it,  it  would  be  necessa- 
ry to  multiply  Uie  size  and  furniture  of  an  ordi- 
nary drawmg-room  by  seven,  and  then  fall  short 
of  the  reality.  When  the  man  in  reply  avowed 
the  troth ;  the  blunt,  remorseless,  naked  truth; 
"  This  is  the  saloon,  sir,"  he  actually  reeled  be- 
neath the  blow. 

In  persons  who  were  so  soon  to  part,  and  in- 
terpose between  their  else  daily  commaaicatioa 
the  formidable  barrier  of  many  thoi  v.ni  miles 
of  stormy  space,  and  who  were,  for  tiiit  reason, 
anxious  to  cast  no  other  cloud,  not  even  i  le  pass- 
ing shadow  of  a  moment's  disappointment  or 
discomfiture,  upon  the  short  interval  of  happy 
companionship  that  yet  remained  to  them — im 
persons  so  situated,  the  natural  transition  from 
these  first  surprises  was  obviously  into  peals  of 
hearty  laughter;  and  I  can  report  that  I,  for  one, 
being  still  seated  upon  the  slab  or  perch  before 
mentioned,  roared  outright  until  the  vessel  rang 
again.  Thus,  in  less  than  two  minutes  after 
coming  upon  it  for  the  first  time,  we  all  by  com- 
mon consent  agreed,  that  this  stateroom  was  the 
pleasantest  and  most  facetious  and  capital  con- 
trivance possible;  and  that,  to  have  had  it  one 
inch  larger,  would  have  been  quite  a  disagreea- 
ble and  deplorable  state  of  things.  And  with 
this,  and  with  showing  how,  by  very  nearly  clo- 
sing the  door,  and  twining  in  and  out  like  ser- 
pents, and  by  counting  the  little  washing  slab  as 
standing-room,  we  could  manage  to  insinuate 
lour  people  into  it,  all  at  one  time ;  and  entreat- 


NOTES   ON  AMERICA. 


ing  each  other  to  obserre  how  very  aiiy  it  wa« 
(in  docic),  and  how  there  was  a  beautifol  port- 
hole which  could  be  kept  open  all  day  (weather 
Eennitting),  and  how  there  was  quite  a  large 
uU's-eye  j  ust  over  the  looking-glass  which  would 
lender  shaving  a  perfectly  easy  and  delightful 
process  (when  the  ship  didn't  roll  too  much); 
we  arrived,  at  last,  at  ine  unanimous  coaelualon 
^at  it  was  rather  spacious  than  otherwise; 
though  I  do  verily  believe  that,  deducting  the 
two  berths,  one  above  the  other,  than  which  no- 
thing smaller  for  sleeping  in  was  ever  made  ex- 
cept coffins,  it  was  no  bigger  than  one  of  those 
liackney  cabriolets  which  have  the  door  behind, 
and  shoot  their  fitres  out,  like  sacks  of  coals, 
vpoB  the  pavement. 

Havine  settled  this  point  to  the  perfect  satis- 
ftction  of  all  parties,  concerned  ana  unconcern- 
ed, we  sat  down  round  the  fire  in  the  ladles'  cab- 
in, just  to  try  the  effect.  It  was  rather  dark,  cer- 
tainlv,  but  somebody  said,  "of  course  it  would 
lie  f4fnt  at  sea,"  a  proposition  to  which  we  all 
assented ;  echoing  "  of  course,  of  course ;"  though 
it  would  be  exceedingly  difficult  to  say  why  we 
Ihooght  so.  I  remember,  too,  when  we  had  dis- 
tarmd  and  exhausted  another  topic  of  consola- 
tion in  the  circumstance  of  this  ladies'  cabin  ad- 
joining our  stateroom,  and  the  consequently  im- 
mense feasibility  of  sitting  there  at  all  times  and 
seasons,  and  haa  fallen  into  a  momentary  silence, 
leaning  our  fiices  on  our  hands  and  looking  at 
die  fire,  one  of  our  party  said,  with  the  solemn 
air  of  a  man  who  had  made  a  discovery, "  What 
a  relish  mulled  claret  will  have  down  here!" 
"wliich  appeared  to  strike  ns  all  so  forcibly,  as 
Ihoagh  there  were  something  spicy  and  mgh- 
flavouied  in  cabins,  which  essentially  improved 
Aat  eonroosition,  and  rendered  it  quite  incapable 
of  perfection  anywhere  else. 

There  was  a  stewardess,  too,  activehr  engaged 
'te  producing  clean  sheets  and  tablecloths  from 
the  renr  eittrails  of  the  sdks,  and  from  nnex- 
wetad  leekers,  of  such  aitflil  mechanism,  that  it 
made  ene^  head  ache  to  see  them  opened  one 
vfter  anodier,  and  rendered  it  quite  a  oistraeting 
'dreumstanee  to  follow  her  proceedings,  and  to 
ind  that  every  nook  and  comer  and  maividual 
fieoe  of  furniture  was  something  ebe  besides 
t«^b*t  it  pietoided  to  be,  and  was  a  mere  trap  and 
<8M'ptloo,  anyplace  of  secret  stowage,  whose 
wtensible  purpose  was  its  least  usefbl  one. 
'  God  bless  that  stewanless  for  her  pioudy&sud- 
^riett  account  of  January  voyaces  I  God  bless 
%et  for  her  clear  recollection  of  the  eomoanion 
fMsage  of  last  year,  when  nobody  was  ill,  and 
trsiy  body 'danced  from  morning  to  night,  and  it 
a  "run"  of  twelve  days,  and  a  piece  of  the 
)8t  frolic,  delight,  and  lollity!  All  happiness 
with  her  for  her  brimt  face  and  pleasant 
Scotch  tongue,  wlich  had  sounds  of  old  Home 
M  H  for  my  fellow-traveller;  and  for  her  predic- 
tlOQs  of  fair  winds  and  fine  weather  (all  wrong, 
vr  I  shouldn't  be  half  so  fond  of  her) ;  and  for  the 
ten  ttiousand  small  fragments  of  genuine  woman- 
ly tact,  by  which,  without  piecmg  them  elabo- 
ntely  together,  )md  patching  them  up  into  shape, 
and  rorm,  and  case,  and  pomted  application,  she 
nevertheless  did  plainly  show  that  all  young 
iBothers  on  one  side  of  the  Atlantic  were  near 
and  close  at  hand  to  their  little  children  left  upon 
the  other;  and  that  what  seemed  to  the  uninitia- 
ted a  serious  journey,  was,  to  those  who  were 
in  die  secret,  a  mere  frolic,  to  be  sung  about  and 
whistled  at!  Light  be  her  heart,  and  gay  her 
mity  eyest^for  years ! 


The  state-room  had  grown  pretty  fkst ;  but  by 
this  time  it  had  expanded  into  something  quite 
bulky,  and  almost  boasted  a  bay-window  to  view 
the  sea  from.    So  we  went  upon  the  deck  again 
in  high  spirits;  and  there,  everything  was  in 
such  a  state  of  bustle  and  active  preparation,  that 
the  blood  quickened  its  pace,  and  whirled  through 
one's  veidls  on  that  clear,  frosty  morning  with  m- 
vbluntary  mirthfulness.    For  every  gallant  ship 
was  riding  slowly  up  and  down,  and  every  little 
boat  was  plashug  noisily  in  the  water;  and 
knots  of  people  stood  upon  the  wharf,  gazing 
with  a  kind  of  "dread  delight"  on  the  far-famed 
fast  American  steamer;  and  one  party  of  men 
were  "taking  in  the  milk,"  or,  in  other  words, 
getting  the  cow  on  board;  and  another  were  fill- 
ing the  icehouses  to  the  very  throat  with  fresh 
provisions ;  with  butchers'  meat  and  gaideo-atufl^ 
pale  sucking-pigs,  calves'  heads  in  scores,  beel, 
veal,  and  pork,  and  poultry  out  of  all  piopordoo ; 
and  others  were  coiling  ropes,  and  busy  with 
oakum  yams ;  and  others  were  lowering  heavy 
packages  into  the  hold;  and  the  pursers  head 
was  barely  visible  as  it  loomed  in  a  state  of  ex- 
quisite perplexity  from  the  midst  of  a  vast  pile 
of  passengers'  luggage :  and  there  seemed  to  be 
nothing  going  on  anywnere,  or  uppermost  in  the 
mind  of  anvbody,  but  preparadon  for  this  mighty 
voyage.    This,  with  the  bright,  cold  sun,  tM 
bracmg  air,  the  crisply-curl«l  water,  die  thin, 
white  crust  of  morning  ice  upon  the  decks,  which 
crackled  with  a  shaip  and  cheerful  sound  be- 
neath the  lightest  tread,  was  irresistible.    And 
when,  again  up(m  the  shore,  we  turned  and  saw 
from  the  vessel's  mast  her  name  si^ialled  in 
flws  of  joyous  colours,  ajod.  fluttering  by  their 
side,  the  oeautiful  American  banner  with  its  stars 
and  stripes,  the  long  three  thousand  miles  and 
more,  and,  longer  still,  the  six  whole  months  of 
absence,  so  dwindled  uid  fjEided,  that  the  ship  had 
gone  out  and  come  home  again,  and  it  was  broad 
sfttag  already  in  the  Cobuig  Dock  at  LiverpooL 
I  hid  not  inquired  among  ray  medical  acquain- 
tance whether  turtle,  and  cold  punch,  with 
hock.  Champagne,  and  claret,  and  aU  the  slisbt 
et  cetera  usiwly  iadnded  in  aa  nnlimitfld  oioer 
for  a  good  dlunier— especially  when  it  is  left  to 
the  liberal  coostruction  of  my  fiuiltless  friend, 
Mr.  Radley,  of  the  Addphi  Hotelr-^are  pecidiaiw 
ly  calculatdl  to  suJBer  a  searchange ;  or  whether 
a  plain  mutton-ohop,  and  a  ^ass  or  two  of  s)ier- 
ry,  would  be  less  ukely  of  conversion  into  finw 
eign  and  disconcerting  material.  Myownopin> 
ion  is,  that  whether  one  is  discreet  or  indisonet 
in  these  particulars,  on  the  eve  of  a  sea-Toyage, 
is  a  matter  of  little  consequence ;  and  that,  to  use 
a  common  phrase,  "  it  comes  to  very  much  the 
same  thing  in  the  end."    Be  this  as  it  may,  I 
know  that  the  dinner  of  that  day  was  undeniably 
perfect;  that  it  comprehended  all  these  items, 
and  a  great  many  more j  and  that  we  all  did 
ample  justice  to  it.  And!  know  too,  that,  bating 
a  certain  tacit  avoidance  of  any  allusion  to  to- 
morrow, such  as  may  be  supposed  to  prevail  be- 
tween delicate-minded  turnkeys,  and  a  sensitive 
prisoner  who  is  to  be  hanged  next  morning,  we 
got  on  very  well,  and,  all  things  considered,  were 
meny  enough. 

When  the  morning— tfe  morning— came,  and 
we  met  at  breakfast,  it  was  curious  to  see  how 
eager  all  were  to  prevent  a  moment's  pause  in 
the  conversation,  and  how  astoundingly  gay 

(everybody  was :  me  forced  spirits  of  each  mem- 
ber of  the  little  party  having  as  much  likeness 
to  his  natural  nuith,  as  hothouse  pease  at  fivo 


\ 


tut ;  bat  by 
lething  quite 
kdow  to  view 
I  deck  again 
ling  was  in 
laration,  that 
irled  through 
ling  with  in- 
gallant  ship 
i  every  little 
water;  and 
harf,  gazing 
tie  far-famed 
larty  of  men 
other  words, 
lier  were  fiU- 
it  with  tnsh. 
gaiden-atofl: 
scores,  bee^ 
1  proportion; 
d  busy  witk 
irering  heavy 
inrsePs  head 
I  sute  of  ei- 
f  a  vast  pile 
seemed  to  be 
irmest  in  the 
r  this  mighty 
old  sua,  th« 
er,  the  thin, 
decks,  which 
ol  sound  be- 
istible.  And 
nedandsaw 
signalled  in 
ring  by  their 
with  its  Stan 
id  miles  and 
le  months  of 
I  the  ship  had 
it  was  bioad 
u  Liverpool 
■calacq^nain-' 
punch,  with 
EtUthe  slisht 
limited  oracr 
1  it  is  left  to 
Itless  fiiend, 
Biepecoliaiw 
;  or  whether 
twoof  sher- 
ion  iatoliBiw 
f  own  opin* 
orindisoset 
searToyage, 
Itbatjtonse 
ly  mvch  the 
ts  It  may,  I 
I  undeniably 
these  items, 
:  we  all  did 
,  that,  bating 
lusion  to  to> 
D  prevail  be- 
1  a  sensitive 
noming,  we 
jdered,  were 

—came,  and 
to  see  how 
t's  pause  in 
idingly  gay 
'eachmem- 
ich  likeneee 
ease  at  five 


,gaineas  theqiurt  resemble  in  flavonr  the  growth 
of  the  dews,  and  air,  and  rain  of  Heaven.  But 
as  one  o'clock,  the  boar  lor  going  aboard,  drew 
near,  this  volubility  dwindlea  away  bv  Uttle  and 
little,  despite  the  most  persevering  cflorts  to  the 
contrary,  until  at  last,  the  matter  being  now 

iiulte  desperate,  we  threw  off  all  disguise ;  opeo- 
y  speculated  upon  where  we  should  be  this  time 
to-morrow,  this  time  next  day,  and  so  forth ;  and 
intrusted  a  vast  niunber  of  messages  to  those 
who  intended  returning  to  town  that  night,  which 
were  to  be  delivered  at  home  and  elsewhere 
without  fail,  within  the  very  shortest  possible 
•pace  of  time  aAer  the  arrival  of  the  railway 
train  at  Euston  Square.  And  commissions  and 
remembrances  do  so  crowd  upon  one  at  such  a 
time,  that  we  were  still  busied  with  this  employ- 
ment when  we  found  ourselves  fused,  as  it  were, 
into  a  dense  conglomeration  of  passengers,  ana 
passengers'  friends,  and  passengers'  luggage,  all 
lumbled  together  on  the  deck  of  a  small  steam- 
Doat,  and  panting  and  snorting  off  to  the  packet, 
.which  had  worked  out  of  dock  yesterday  after- 
noon, and  was  now  lying  at  her  moorii^  in  the 
river. 

And  there  she  is!  all  eyes  are  tamed  to  where 
ahe  lies,  dimly  diMsemible  through  the  gathering 
fog  of  the  early  winter  aitemoon;  every  finger 
is  {Minted  in  the  same  direction ;  and  murmurs 
of  interest  and  admiration,  as,  "  How  beauldful 
ahe  looksl"  "How  trim  she  is!"  are  heard  on 
•every  aide.  Even  the  lazv  gentleman,  with  his 
hat  on  one  side  and  his  nands  in  his  pockets, 
who  has  diMDOised  so  much  consolation  by  in- 
.qoiring  witn  a  yawn  of  another  gentl«nan 
whether  he  is  "going  across,"  as  if  it  were  a 
leny— even  he  condescends  to  look  that  way  and 
nod  his  head,  as  who  should  say,  "No  mistake 
about  thtUi"  and  not  even  the  sag2  Lond  Bur- 
lei^^  in  his  nod,  included  half  so  much  as  this 
•la^  gentleman  of  might,  who  has  made  the  pas- 
sa^B  (as  everybody  on  Doaid  has  Ibond  out  al- 
vready,  it's  impossible  to  say  how)  thiitaen  times 
without  a  single  accident!  There  is  another 
passenger  very  much  wn^iped  np,  who  has  been 
icowned  down  hy  the  rest,  and  mfwally  tnunpted 
'•upon  and  crashed,  for  presaming  to  iaqnin, 
/mth  a  timid  interest,  how  k>ng  it  is  since  the 
poor  Preudent  went  down.  He  is  atvuUng 
;«IoBe  to  the  lazy  gentleman,  and  says,  with  a 
Aint  smile,  that  ite  believes  she  is  a  very  strong 
.ahin:  to  which  the  lazy  geatlemaa,  loolong  firrt 
in  hia  auestioner's  eye  and  then  very  hard  in 
,'£he  wind's,  answers  unexpectedly  and  ominous- 
ly tlot  she  need  be.  Upon  this,  the  laay  gentle- 
man instantly  ialls  very  low  in  the  popubur  esti- 
■tation,  and  the  passengers,  with  loots  of  defi- 
-aace,  whiqaer  to  each  ether  that  he  is  an  ass  aod 
an  impostor,  and  clearly  don't  know  anything  at 
-aft  about  it 

But  we  are  made  fast  alongside  the  packet, 
.whose  huge  red  fuimel  is  smoldng  bravely,  giv- 
ing rich  promise  of  serious  intentions.  Pack- 
ing-eases, portmanteaus,  carpet-bags,  and  boxes, 
are  already  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  and  haul- 
ed on  board  with  breathless  rapidity.  The  offi- 
cers, onartly  dressed,  are  at  the  gaiM:way,  hand- 
ing the  passengers  up  the  side,  and  hurrying  the 
men.  In  five  minutes'  time  the  little  steamer  is 
utterly  deserted,  and  the  packet  is  beset  and  over- 
run by  its  late  freight,  who  instantly  pervade  die 
whole  ship,  and  are  to  be  met  with  l^  the  dossen 
in  every  nook  and  comer ;  swarming  down  be- 
low with  their  own  ba|:gage,  and  stumbling  over 
<ether  people's;  disposing  themselves  comfortap 


bly  in  wrong  cabins,  and  creating  a  most  honi. 
ble  confusion  by  having  to  turn  out  again :  mad- 
ly bent  upon  openin^p  locked  doors,  and  on  forcing 
a  passage  into  all  kinds  of  out-of-the-way  places, 
where  mere  is  no  thorough£ue:  sending  wild 
sunwards,  with  elfin  hair,  to  ana  fro  upon  the 
hi  -izv  decks  on  unintelligible  errands,  impossi- 
ble or  execution ;  and,  in  short,  creating  the  most 
extrafidinarr  and  bewildering  tumult.  In  tbt 
midst  of  all  this,  the  lazy  gentleman,  who  seems 
to  have  no  luggage  of  any  kind— not  so  much  as 
a  friend,  even— lounges  up  and  down  the  hnrri- 
can»<leck,  coolly  puffing  a  cigar;  and,  as  this 
unconcerned  demeanour  again  exalts  him  in  the 
opinion  of  those  who  have  leisure  to  observe  his 
proceedings,  every  time  he  looks  up  at  the  masts, 
or  down  at  the  dedu,  or  over  the  side,  they  look 
thera  too,  as  wondering  whether  he  sees  any- 
thing wrong  anywhere,  and  hoping  that,  in  case 
be  ^ould,  he  will  have  the  goo^eas  to  men- 
tion it. 

What  have  we  herel  The  captain's  boatt 
and  yonder  the  captain  himself,  rfow,  by  all 
our  hopes  and  wisbes,  the  very  man  he  ought  to 
be  t  A  well-made,  tight-built,  dapper  little  fel- 
low, with  a  rnddy  face,  which  is  a  letter  of  invi- 
tation to  shake  mm  by  both  hands  at  once;  and 
with  a  clear  blue  honest  eye,  that  it  does  one 
good  to  see  one's  sparkling  image  in.  "  Ring 
the  bell  I"  "  Ding,  ding,  ding  I"  the  very  bell  is 
in  a  hurry.  "  Now  for  the  shore ;  who's  for  the 
shore  1"  These  gentlemen,  I  am  sorry  to  say." 
They  are  away,  and  never  said  good-oy.  Ahl 
now  they  wave  it  from  the  little  boat.  "  Good- 
byl  6ood-by!"  Three  cheers fhnn  them;  three 
more  from  us;  three  more  from  them;  and  they 
are  gone. 

To  and  fro,  to  and  fro,  to  and  iro  again  a 
hundred  times!  This  waiting  for  the  latest 
mailbags  is  worse  than  all.    If  we  could  have 

Sue  off  in  the  midst  of  that  last  burst,  we  should 
ve  started  triumphantly;  but  to  Ue  here,  two 
hours  and  more,  in  the  tuuap  fog,  neither  slay- 
ing at  home  nor  gtnng  abroad,  is  letting  oae 
gradually  down  into  the  very  (upth  of  dulnesa 
and  low  spirits.  A  speek  in  the  mist  at  leatt 
That's  something.  It  is  the  boat  we  wait  fiwt 
That's  BKMre  to  tne  purpose.  The  eaptain  ^>- 
pears  on  the  paddle-box  with  hia  speakmsmum- 
pet;  the  officers  take  their  stations;  all  hands 
are  on  the  alert;  the  flagging  hopes  of  the  paa- 
sengers  revive ;  the  cooks  ptuse  in  their  savottry 
wonc,  and  look  out  widi  faces  full  of  inmrnt. 
The  boat  comes  alongside ;  the  bags  are  dragged  i 
in  anyhow,  and  flung  down  for  the  moment  any- 
where. Three  cheers  more ;  and  as  the  first  one 
rings  upon  our.  ears^  the  vessel  throbs  like  a  I 
strong  giant  that  has  just  received  the  breath  of 
life;  the  two  great  wheels  turn  fiercelv  round 
for  the  first  time ;  and  the  noble  ship,  with  wind 
and  tide  astern,  breaks  proudly  through  the  lash-  | 
ed  and  foaming  water. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  PASSAOE  OUT. 

Wr  all  dined  together  that  day ;  and  a  rather  1 
formidable  party  we  were :  no  fewer  than  eighty- 
six  strong.  The  vessel  being  pretty  deep  in  the  I 
water,  with  all  her  coals  on  board  and  so  many  | 
passengers,  and  the  weather  being  cahn  and  qniet, 
Uiere was  but  little  motion;  so  that  befora  the! 
dinner  was  half  over,  even  those  passengers  isho  1 


NOTES  ON   AMERICA. 


wen  moit  diatniatftil  of  themselTcs  placksd  up 
■nuudncly;  and  thoM  who  in  the  morninf  had 
rettmea  to  the  unirenal  question,  "  Are  yon  a 
good  uilor  1"  a  reiy  decided  negative,  now  either 
parried  the  inquiry  with  the  evasive  reply,  "Oh! 
I  suppose  I'm  no  worse  than  anybody  else ;"  or, 
reckless  of  all  moral  obligations,  answered  bold- 
Ir,  "  Yes :"  and  with  some  irritation  too,  as 
though  they  would  add,  "  I  should  like  to  know 
what  yon  see  in  nw,  sir,  particularly,  to  justify 
auspicion  1" 

Notwithstanding  this  high  tone  of  courage  and 
confidence,  I  coulct  not  but  observe  that  very  few 
remained  long  over  their  wine;  and  that  every- 
body had  an  unusual  love  of  the  open  air; 
and  that  the  ikvourite  and  most  coveted  seats 
were  invariably  those  nearest  to  the  door.  The 
tea-table,  too,  was  by  no  means  as  well  attended 
as  the  dinner-table ;  and  there  was  less  whist- 
finiag  than  might  have  been  expected.  Still, 
witn  the  exception  of  one  lady,  who  had  retired 
with  some  precipitation  at  dinner-time,  immedi- 
ately after  being  assisted  to  the  finest  cut  of  a 
very  yellow  boiled  leg  of  mutton  with  very  green 
capers,  there  were  no  invalids  as  yet;  and  walk- 
ing, and  smoking,  and  drinking  of  brandy-and- 
water  (but  always  in  the  open  ur)  went  on  with 
unabated  spirit,  until  eleven  o'clock  or  there- 
abouts, when  "  turning  in"-Hio  sailor  of  seven 
hours'  experience  talks  of  going  to  bed— became 
the  order  of  the  night.  The  perpetual  tramp  of 
boot-heels  on  the  decks  gave  place  to  a  heavy 
aUence,  and  the  whole  human  freight  was  stow- 
ed away  below,  excepting  a  very  few  stragglers, 
like  myself,  who  were  probably,  like  me,  afraid 
to  go  there. 

To  one  unaccustomed  to  such  scenes,  this  is  a 
very  striking  time  on  shipboard.  Afterward, 
and  when  its  novelty  had  long  worn  off,  it  never 
ceased  to  have  a  peculiar  interest  and  charm  for 
me.  The  gloom  through  which  the,  great  black 
mass  holds  its  direct  and  certain  course;  the 
rwriiing  water,  plainly  heard,  but  dimlv  seen ; 
the  broad,  white,  glistening  track,  that  fcmows  in 
the  vessel's  wake ;  the  men  on  the  look-out  for- 
ward, who  would  be  scarcely  visible  against  the 
dark  sky  but  for  their  blotting  out  some  score  of 
|distening  stan ;  the  helmsman  at  the  wheel,  with 
ttie  illummated  card  before  him,  shining,  a  speck 
at  light  amid  the  darkness,  like  something  sen- 
tient and  of  Divine  intelligence ;  the  melancholy 
aii^iing  of  the  wind  through  block,  and  rope,  and 
chain ;  the  gleaming  £arai  of  l^ht  from  every 
crevice,  nook,  and  tmy  piece  of  glass  about  the 
decks,  as  though  the  sinip  were  filled  with  fire  in 
kidiag,  ready  to  burst  tnrough  any  outlet,  wild 
with  Its  resistless  power  of  death  iod  ruin.  At 
first,  too,  and  even  when  the  hour,  and  all  the 
objects  it  exalts,  have  come  to  be  familiar,  it  is 
dmcult,  alone  and  thoughtful,  to  hold  them  to 
their  proper  shapes  and  forms.  They  change 
with  the  wandering  fancy^  assume  the  semblance 
of  things  left  far  away;  put  on  the  well-remem- 
bered aspect  of  favourite  irfaces  dearly  loved ; 
and  even  people  them  with  shadows.  Streets, 
houses,  rooms-r-figures  so  like  their  usual  occu- 
pants, that  they  have  startled  me  by  their  reality, 
which  far  exceeded,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  all  power 
of  mine  to  conjure  up  the  absent — have,  many 
and  many  a  time,  at  such  an  hour,  erown  sud- 
denly out  of  objects  with  whose  real  look,  and 
use,  and  purpose  I  was  as  well  acquainted  as 
with  my  own  two  hands. 
'  My  own  two  hands,  and  feet  likewise,  being 
cold,  however,  on  this  particular  occasion, 


I  crept  bekiw  at  midai^    It  waa  not  ezaetlf 

comfortable  belew.  It  waa  decidedly  close ;  and 
it  was  impossible  to  be  uaconscioiu  of  the  pre*- 
ence  of  that  extraordinair  compound  of  strange 
smells,  which  is  to  be  found  nowhere  but  on 
board  ship,  and  which  is  such  a  subtle  perfbme 
that  it  seema  to  enter  at  every  pore  of  tae  skin, 
and  whisper  of  the  hold.  Two  passengen' wives 
(one  of  them  my  own)  lay  alrrady  in  silent  ago- 
nies on  the  sofa ;  and  one  lady's  maid  (my  lady's) 
was  a  mere  bundle  on  the  floor,  execrating  her 
destiny,  and  pounding  her  curl-papen  among  the 
stray  boxes.  Everything  sloped  the  wrong  way— 
which  in  itself  was  an  agnavation  scareely  ti^ 
be  borne.  I  had  left  the  dwor  open,  a  moment 
before,  in  the  bosom  of  a  gentle  declivity,  and, 
when  I  turned  to  shut  it,  it  was  on  the  siunmlt 
of  a  lofty  eminence.  Now  every  plank  and  tim- 
ber creaked,  as  if  the  ship  were  made  of  wicker- 
weric;  and  now  rrackleo,  like  an  enormous  fim 
ofthe  driest  possible  twigs.  There  was  nothing, 
for  it  but  bed;  so  I  went  to  bed. 

It  was  pretty  much  the  same  for  the  next  tw»- 
days,  with  a  tolerably  fair  wind  and  dry  weather. 
I  read  in  bed  (but  to  this  hour  I  don't  know  whatV 
a  good  deal ;  and  reeled  on  deck  a  little ;  dxanK 
cold  brandy-and-water  with  an  unspeakable  dis- 
gust, and  ate  hard  biscuit  persevenngly:  not  iU, 
but  going  to  be. 

It  is  the  third  moming.  I  am  awakened  ont 
of  my  sleep  by  a  dismal  shriek  from  my  wife, 
who  demands  to  know  whether  there's  any  dan- 
ger. I  rouse  myself,  and  look  out  of  bed.  The 
water-jug  is  plunging  and  leaping  like  a  lively 
dolphin ;  all  the  smaUer  articles  are  afloat,  ex- 
cept my  shoes,  which'are  stranded  on  a  carpet- 
baig.  high  and  dry,  like  a  couple  of  coal-barges. 
Suddeiuy  I  see  them  spring  into  the  air,  and  be- 
hold the  looking-glass,  which  is  nailed  to  the 
wall,  sticking  fast  upon  the  ceiling.  At  the  same 
time  the  door  entirely  disappears,  and  a  new  one 
is  opeUfBd  in  the  floor.  Then  I  begin  to  compre- 
hend that  the  state-room  is  standing  on  its  head. 

Before  it  is  possible  to  make  any  arrangement 
at  all  compatible  with  this  novel  state  of  things, 
the  ship  rights.    Before  one  can  say  "  ThuJc 
Heaven!"  she  wrongs  again.    Before  one  can- 
cry  she  i$  wrong,  she  seems  to  have  started  fw- 
ward,and  to  be  a  creature  actively  running  of  its 
own  accord,  with  broken  knees  and  failine  1^.. 
through  every  variety  of  hole  and  pitfaU,  uA 
stumbling  constantly.    Before  <me  can  so  much 
as  wonder,  she  takes  a  hi^  leap  into  the  air. 
Before  she  has  well  done  mat,  she  takes  a  deerp ' 
dive  into  the  water.    Before  she  has  gained  tlw' 
surface,  she  throws  a  summerset.    The  instant 
she  is  on  her  legs,  she  rushes  backward.    Antf 
so  die  goes  on  staggering,  heaving,  wrestling,, 
leaping,  diving,  jumping,  pitching,  throbbing. 
rolUng,  and  rocking:   and  going  through  m' 
these  movements,  sometimes  by  turns,  and  som»- 
times  all  together:  until  one  feels  disposed  lfo> 
roar  for  mercy. 

A  steward  passes.  "  Steward !"  "  Sir  1" 
"  What  is  the  matter  1  what  do  you  call  this  1" 
"  Rather  a  heavy  sea  on,  sir,  and  a  head  wind." 

A  head  wind  I  Imagine  a  human  face  upon, 
the  vessel's  prow,  with  fifteen  thousand  Samp- 
sons in  one  bent  upon  driving  her  back,  and  hi^ 
ting  her  exactly  between  the  eyes  whenever  she- 
attempts  to  advance  an  inch.  Imagine  the  ship 
herself,  with  every  pulse  and  artery  of  her  huge 
body  swollen  and  bursting  under  this  maltreat- 
ment, sworn  to  go  on  or  die.  Imagine  the  wind 
howling,  the  sea  roaring,  the  rain  beating:  all  ia 


NOTES  ON   AMERICA. 


not  ezaetljr 
clow;  and 
of  UMpre»- 
1  of  ttnnge 
ere  bat  oa 
tie  perftime 
•f  the  •kin. 
gen' wives 
silent  aco- 
(my  lady's) 
cnting  her 
I  among  the 
rongway— 
scarcely  toi 
,  a  moment 
slivity,  and, 
the  summit 
tkandtim- 
sofwicker- 
ormous  firs 
ras  nothing. 

be  next  tw«>- 
Lry  weather. 
knowwhat> 
[ttle :  dranK 
Mkable  dis- 
gly:  notiU, 

rakened  oat 
m  my  wife, 
;'8  any  dan- 
rbed.    The 
Like  a  lively 
e  afloat,  ez- 
onacarpet- 
coal-baiges. 
air,  and  be- 
ailed  to  the 
t  the  same 
a  new  one 
I  to  eompre- 
on  its  head, 
irrangement 
e  of  things, 
ly  "  Thank 
>n  (Hie  caft- 
started  for- 
inningof  its 
[ailing  l^s.. 
pitiaU,  uw 
w  so  maeh 
Bto  the  air. 
akes  a  deep 
gained  th»' 
'he  instant 
raid.    Antf 
,  wrestling,, 
throbbing, 
hroagh  m 
,andsom»- 
disposed  tt>> 

"  Sir  r 
call  this  1" 
icad  wind." 
face  upon 
nd  Samp- 
:k,  and  hit- 
lenever  she* 
tie  the  ship 
f  her  huge 
s  maltreat- 
le  the  wind 
ing:  all  iK 


t 


fbrfoofl  array  against  her.  Pictore  the  sky  both 
dark  and  wild,  and  the  ckmds,  in  fearftd  sympa- 
thy with  the  waves,  nuking  another  ocean  in  the 
air.  Add  to  all  this  the  clattering  on  deck  and 
down  below ;  the  tread  of  harried  feet;  ihe  load, 
hoarse  shoato  of  seamen ;  the  gargling  in  and 
out  of  water  through  the  scuppers;  with,  every 
now  and  then,  the  striking  of  a  heavy  sea  upon 
the 'planks  above,  with  the  deep,  dead,  heavy 
sound  of  thunder  heard  within  a  vault  — and 
there  is  the  head-wind  of  that  Januaiy  morning. 
I  say  nothing  of  what  may  be  called  the  do- 
meetie  noise*  of  the  ship :  such  as  the  breaking 
of  glass  and  crockery,  the  tumbling  down  of 
stewards,  the  gambols,  overhead,  of  loose  casks 
and  truant  doiens  of  bottled  porter,  and  the  very 
remarkable  and  far  from  exhilarating  sounds 
raised  in  their  various  state-rooms  by  the  sev- 
enty passengere  who  were  too  ill  to  get  up  to 
breakfast.  I  say  nothing  of  them ;  for,  although 
I  lay  listening  to  this  concert  for  three  or  four 
days,  I  don't  think  I  heard  it  for  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  minute,  at  the  expiration  of  which 
term  I  lay  down  again  excessively  sea-sick. 

Not  sea-sick,  be,  it  understood,  in  the  ordinary 
acceptation  of  the  term— I  wish  I  had  been— but 
in  a  form  which  I  have  never  seen  or  heard  de- 
scribed, though  I  have  no  doubt  it  is  very  com- 
mon. I  lay  there,  all  the  day  long,  quite  coolly 
and  contentedly ;  with  no  sense  of  weariness, 
with  no  desire  to  get  up,  or  get  better,  or  take 
the  air ;  with  no  curiosity,  or  care,  or  regret,  of 
any  sort  or  degree,  saving  that  I  think  I  can  re- 
member, in  this  universal  indifference,  having  a 
kind  of  lazy  joy-^-of  fiendish  delight,  if  anything 
so  lethargic  can  be  dignified  with  the  title— in 
the  fact  of  my  wife  bein{[  too  ill  to  talk  to  me. 
If  I  may  be  allowed  to  illustrate  my  state  of 
mind  by  such  an  example,  I  should  say  that  I 
was  exactly  in  the  condition  of  the  elder  Mr. 
Wiilet  after  the  ineuraion  of  the  riotera  ttlto  his 
bar  at  Chigwell.  Nothing  would  have  surprised 
me.  If,  in  the  momentary  illumination  of  any 
ray  of  intelligence  that  may  have  oome  upon  me 
in  the  way  of  thoughts  of  home,  a  goblin  post- 
nuui,  with  a  scarlet  coat  and  bell,  had  come  into 
that  little  kennel  before  me,  broad  awake  in 
broad  day,  and,  apologising  for  being  damp 
through  walking  in  the  sea,  had  handed  me  a 
letter,  directed  to  myself  in  familiar  characters, 
I  am  certain  I  should  nut  have  felt  one  atom  of 
astonishment :  I  should  have  been  perfectly  sat- 
isfied. IfNeptunehunself  had  walked  in,  with 
a  toasted  shark  on  his  trident,  I  should  have 
looked  upon  the  event  as  one  of  the  very  com- 
monest every-day  occurrences. 

Once — once — I  found  myself  on  deck.  I  don't 
know  how  I  got  there,  or  what  possessed  me  to 
go  there,  but  there  I  was ;  and  com|detely  dress- 
ed too,  with  a  huge  peaooat  on,  and  a  pair  of 
boots  such  as  no  weak  man  in  his  senses  could 
ever  have  got  into.  I  found  myself  standing, 
when  a  gleam  of  consciousness  came  upon  me, 
holding  on  to  something ;  I  don't  know  what. 
I  think  it  was  the  boatswain ;  or  it  may  have 
been  the  pump ;  or  possibly  the  cow.  I  can't 
say  how  long  I  had  teen  there ;  whether  a  day 
or  a  minute.  I  recollect  trying  to  think  about 
something  (about  anything  in  the  whole  wide 
world,  I  was  not  particular)  without  the  small- 
est effect.  I  could  not  even  make  ont  which 
was  the  aea,  and  which  the  sky ;  for  the  hori- 


lon  seemed  drunk,  and  was  flying  wildly  abo«t 
in  all  directions.  Even  in  that  incapable  stste, 
however,  I  recognised  the  issy  gentleman  stand- 
ing before  me,  nautically  etod  in  a  suit  of  shaggy 
blue,  with  an  oilskin  hat ;  but  I  was  too  imb». 
cile,  althoui^h  I  knew  it  to  be  he,  to  separate 
him  from  his  dress,  and  tried  to  call  him,  I  re- 
member, PHot.  After  another  interval  of  total 
unconsciousness,  I  found  he  had  gone,  and  rec- 
ognised another  flgare  in  ita  place.  It  seemed 
to  wave  and  fluctuate  before  me  as  though  I 
saw  it  reflected  in  an  unsteady  looking-glass ; 
but  I  knew  it  for  the  captain ;  and  such  waa  the 
cheerful  influence  of  his  fhce,  that  I  tried  t* 
smile ;  yes,  even  then  I  tried  to  smile.  I  saw 
by  his  gestures  that  he  addressed  me ;  but  it 
was  a  long  time  before  I  could  make  out  that 
he  remonstrated  against  my  standing  up  to  my 
knees  in  water — as  I  was ;  of  course  I  doa'l 
know  why.  I  tried  to  thank  him,  but  coulda't. 
I  oould  oinly  point  to  my  boots— or  wherever  1 
supposed  my  boots  to  be — and  say,  in  a  plain* 
tive  voice,  "  Cork  soles ;"  at  the  same  time  en- 
deavouring, I  am  told,  to  sit  down  in  the  pook 
Finding  that  I  was  quite  insensible,  and  for  th« 
time  a  maniac,  he  humanely  condacted  me  be* 
low. 

There  I  remained  until  I  got  better ;  soflbr- 
ing,  whenever  1  was  recommended  to  eat  any- 
thing, an  amount  of  anguish  only  second  to  that 
which  is  said  to  be  endured  by  the  apparently 
drowned  in  the  process  of  restoration  tu  life. 
One  gentleman  on  board  had  a  letter  of  intro> 
duetion  to  me  from  a  mutual  friend  in  London. 
He.  sent  it  below  with  his  card  on  the  morning 
of  the  bead- wind ;  and  I  was  long  troubled  witk 
the  idea  that  he  might  be  up  and  well,  and  a 
hundred  times  a  day.  expecting  me  to  call  upom 
him  in  the  saloon.  I  imagined  him  one  of  thos* 
cast-iron  images — I  will  not  call  them  men — 
who  ask,  with  red  faces  and  lusty  vmces,  what 
sea-sickness  means,  and  whether  it  really  is  as 
bad  as  it  is  represented  to  be.  This  was  very 
torturing  indeed ;  and  I  don't  think  I  ever  felt 
such  perflsct  gratification  and  gratitude  of  neavi 
as  I  did  when  I  heard  from  the  ship's  doctor 
that  he  had  been  obliged  to  put  a  large  mustani 
poultice  on  this  very  gentleman's  stomaeb.  I 
date  my  recovery  from  the  receipt  of  that  intel^ 
Ugenoe. 

It  was  materially  assisted  though,  I  iiave  n» 
doubt,  by  a  heavy  gale  of  wind,  which  cam* 
slowly  up  at  sunset,  when  we  were  about  te» 
days  outi  and  raged  with  gradually  inereasiag 
fury  until  morning,  saving  that  it  lulled  for  an 
hour  a  little  before  midnight.  There  was  some- 
thing in  the  unnatural  repose  of  that  hour,  and 
in  the  after-gathering  of  the  storm,  so  incoor 
ceivably  awful  and  tremendous,  that  its  burst- 
inginto  full  violence  was  almost  a  relief. 

The  labouring  of  the  ship  in  the  troubled  sea 
on  this  night  I  shall  never  forget.  "  Will  it 
ever  be  worse  than  thisi"  was  a  question  I  had 
often  heard  asked,  when  everything  was  sliding 
and  bumping  about,  and  when  it  certainly  did 
seem  difficult  to  comprehend  the  possibility  of 
anything  afloat  being  more  disturbed  without 
toppling  over  and  going  down.  But  what  the 
agitation  of  a  steam-vessel  is,  on  a  bad  winter's 
night  in  the  wild  Atlantic,  it  is  impossible  for 
the  most  vivid  imagination  to  conceive.  To  say 
that  she  is  flung  down  on  her  side  in  the  wave^ 


iO 


N0TE8  ON    AMERICA. 


with  her  masta  dipping  into  then,  and  that, 
springing  up  again,  she  rolls  over  on  the  other 
side,  until  a  heavy  sea  strikes  her  with  the  noise 
of  a  hundred  gieat  guns  and  hurls  her  back — 
that  she  stops,  anU  stauers,  and  shivers,  as 
though  stunned,  and  thenTwith  a  violent  throb- 
bing at  her  heart,  darts  onward  like  a  monster 
goaded  into  madness,  to  be  beaten  down,  and 
battered,  and  crushed,  and  leaped  on  by  the  an- 
,gry  sea — that  thunder,  lightning,  hail,  and  rain, 
and  wind,  are  all  in  fierce  contention  for  the 
mastery — that  every  plank  has  its  groan,  every 
nail  its  shriek,  and  every  drop  of  water  in  the 
4|reat  ocean  its  howling  voice — is  nothing.  To 
«ay  that  all  is  grand,  and  all  appalling  and  hor- 
rible in  the  last  degree,  is  nothing.  Words 
cannot  express  it ;  thoughts  cannot  convey  it. 
Only  a  dream  can  call  it  up  again  in  all  its  fury, 
nge,  and  passion. 
I<r  And  yet,  in  the  very  midst  of  these  terrors,  I 

li  was  placed  in  a  situation  so  exquisitely  ridicu- 
lous, that  even  then  I  had  as  strong  a  sense  of 
its  absurdity  as  I  have  now,  and  could  no  more 
lielp  laughying  than  I  can  at  any  other  comical 
incident  happening  under  circumstances  the 
most  &vonrable  to  its  enjoyment.  About  mid- 
night we  shipped  a  sea,  which  forced  its  way 
through  the  skylights,  burst  open  the  doors 
«bove,  and  came  raging  and  roaring  down  into 
the  ladies'  cabin,  to  the  unspeakable  consterna- 
tion of  my  wife  and  a  little  Scotch  lady — who. 
i>y  the  way,  had  previously  sent  a  message  to 
the  captain  by  the  stewardess,  requesting  him, 
with  her  compliments,  to  have  a  steel  conductor 
immediately  attached  to  the  top  of  every  mast, 
«nd  to  the  chimney,  in  order  that  the  ship  might 
oot  be  struck  by  lightning.  They,  and  the  hand- 
maid before  mentioned,  being  in  such  ecstacies 
of  fear  that  I  scarcely  knew  what  to  do  with 
them,  I  naturally  bethought  myself  of  some  re-, 
«torative  or  comfortidile  cordial;  and  nothing 
tetter  occarring  to  me  at  the  moment  than  hot 
l>randy-and-water,  I  procured  a  tumbler-fuD 
withoot  delay.  It  being  impossible  to  stand  or 
4rit  witboirt  holding  oa,  they  were  all  heaped  to- 
gether in  one  comer  of  a  long  sofo— a  fixture 
■Mitending  entirely  acroas  the  cabin— where  they 
«lung  to  each  other  in  memontaiy  expectation 
<d  being  drowned.  When  I  approached  this 
idace  with  my  specific,  and  was  about  to  admin- 
Mter  it,  with  many  consolatory  expressions,  to 
the  nearest  sufferer,  what  was  my  dismay  to 
4Me  them  all  rtil  skiwly  down  to  the  other  end ! 
And  when  I  staggered  to  that  end,  and  heM  out 
the  glass  onoe  more,  how  immensely  bafifled 
were  my  good  intentions  by  the  ship  giving  an- 
«ther  lurch,  and  their  all  rolling  back  again  !  I 
suppose  I  dodged  them  op  and  down  this  sofa 
for  at  least  a  quarter  of  an  hour  without  reach- 
ing them  once ;  and  by  the  time  I  did  catch 
them,  the  brandy-and-water  was  diminished,  by 
constant  spilling,  to  a  tea-spoonful.  To  com- 
plete the  grdup,  it  is  necessary  to  recognise  in 
this  disconcerted  dodger  a  very  pale  individual, 
who  had  shaved  his  Iraard  and  brushed  his  hair 
last  at  Liverpool,  and  whose  only  articles  of 
•dress  (linen  not  included)  were  a  pair  of  dread- 
naught  trousers,  a  blue  jacket,  formerly  adiniied 
«ipon  the  Thames  at  Richmond,  no  stockings, 
and  one  slipper. 

Of  the  outrageous  antics  performed  by  that 
«kip  next  mommit;  whidi  mada  bed  a  practical 


joke,  and  getting  up,  by  any  process  short  of  fall- 
ing out,  an  impossibilUy,  I  say  nothing.  But 
anything  like  the  utter  dreariness  anr*  uesolation 
that  met  my  eyes  when  I,  literally  "  tumbled  op" 
on  deck  at  noon,  I  never  saw.  i>cean  and  sky 
were  all  of  one  dull,  heavy,  uniform,  lead  colour. 
There  was  no  extent  of  prospect  even  over  the 
dreary  waste  that  lay  around  us,  for  the  sea  ran 
high,  and  the  horizon  encompassed  us  like  a 
large  black  hoop.  Viewed  from  the  air,  or  some 
tall  bluff  on  shore,  it  would  have  been  imposing 
and  stupendous  no  doubt;  but  seen  from  tne  wet 
and  rolling  decks,  it  only  impressed  one  giddily 
and  painfully.  In  the  gale  of  last  night  the  life- 
boat nad  been  crushed  by  one  blow  of  the  sea  like 
a  walnut-shell;  and  there  it  hung  dangling  in  the 
air :  a  mere  fagot  of  crazy  boards.  The  plank- 
ing of  the  paddle-boxes  had  been  torn  sheer  away. 
The  wheels  were  exposed  and  bare;  and  they 
whirled  and  dashed  their  spray  about  die  decks 
at  random.  Chimney,  white  with  crusted  salt : 
topmasts  struck;  storm-sails  set;  rigging  all 
knotted,  tangled,'.wet,  and  drooping :  a  gloomier 
picture  it  would  be  bard  to  look  upon. 

I  was  now  comfortably  established  by  courtesy 
in  the  ladies'  cabin,  where,  besides  ourselves, 
there  were  only  four  other  passengers.  First, 
the  little  Scotch  lady  before-mentioned,  on  her 
way  to  join  her  huslmnd  at  New- York,  who  had 
settled  there  three  years  before.  Secondly  and 
thirdly,  an  honest  young  Yorkshireman,  connect- 
ed with  some  American  house;  domiciled  in 
that  same  city,  and  carrying  thither  his  beautiful 
young  wife,  to  whom  he  had  been  married  but  a 
lortnight,  and  who  was  the  fairest  specimen  of  a 
comely  English  counir>'  girl  I  have  ever  seen. 
Fourthly,  nflhly,  and  lastly,  another  couple: 
newly  married  too,  if  one  might  judge  from  the 
endearments  they  frequently  interchanged:  of 
whom  I  know  no  more  than  that  they  were  rather 
a  mysterious,  run-away  kind  of  couple;  that  the 
lady  had  great  personal  attractions  also;  and  that 
the  ^ntleman  carried  more  guns  with  him  than 
Robinson  Crusoe,  wore  a  shooting-coat,  and  had 
two  great  dogs  on  board.  On  farther  considera- 
tion, I  remember  that  he  tried  hot  roast  pig  and 
bottled  ale  as  a  cure  for  sea-sickness:  and  that 
he  took  these  remedies  (usually  in  bed)  day  after 
day,  with  astonishing  perseverance.  I  may  add, 
for  the  information  of  the  curious,  that  they  df^ 
cidedly  failed. 

The  weather  continuing  obstinately  and  almost 
nnprecedently  bad,  we  usually  straggled  into  this 
cabin,  more  or  less  faint  and  miserable,  about 
an  hour  before  noon,  and  lay  down  on  the  sofas 
to  recover;  during  which  interval,  the  captain 
would  look  in  to  communicate  the  state  of  the 
wind,  the  moral  certainty  of  its  changing  to-mor- 
row (the  weather  is  always  going  to  improve  to- 
morrow, at  sea),  the  vessel's  rate  of  sailing,  and 
so  forth.  Observations  there  were  none  to  tell 
us  of,  for  there  was  no  sun  to  take  them  by.  But 
a  description  of  one  day  will  serve  for  all  the 
rest.    Here  it  is. 

The  captain  being  gone,  we  compose  ourselves 
to  read,  it  the  place  be  light  enough;  and  if  not, 
we  doze  and  talk  alternately.  At  sne,  a  bell 
rings,  and  the  stewardess  comes  down  with  a 
steaming  dish  of  baked  potatoes,  and  another  of 
roasted  apples;  and  plates  of  pig's  face,  cold  ham, 
salt  beef;  or  perhaps  a  smoking  mess  of  rare  hot 
coliops.  We  fkll  to  upon  these  dainties;  eat  as 
much  as  we  can  (we  have  great  appetites  now); 
and  are  as  long  as  possible  about  it.  If  the  fixe 
will  bum  (it  um  sometimes)  we  are  preny  cheer- 


NOTES   ON  AMERICA. 


11 


ss  short  of  fall- 
nothing.  Bat 
anH  uesolation 
"  tumbled  up" 
>cean  and  sky 
m,  lead  colour, 
even  over  the 
for  the  sea  rau 
ised  us  like  a 
he  air,  or  some 
been  imposing 
n  from  tne  wet 
>ed  one  giddily 
night  the  life- 
of  the  sea  like 
langling  in  the 
i.  The  plank- 
m  sheer  away, 
are;  and  they 
bout  the  decks 
1  crusted  salt; 
;;  rigging  all 
g :  a  gloomier 
pon. 

ed  by  courtesy 
des  ourselves, 
ingers.  First, 
tioned,  on  her 
ifork,  who  had 
Secondly  and 
iman,  connect- 
domiciled  in 
r  his  beautiful 
married  but  a 
specimen  of  a 
ive  ever  seen, 
other  couple: 
udge  from  the 
renanged:  of 
ey  were  rather 
uple;  that  the 
also;  and  that 
with  him  than 
•coat,  and  had 
her  considera- 
roa&t  pig  and 
less;  and  that 
bed)  day  after 
;.  I  may  add, 
,  that  they  do- 
sly  and  almost 
ggled  into  this 
lerable,  about 
a  on  the  sofas 
1,  the  captain 
e  state  of  the 
nging  to-mor- 
to  improve  to- 
)f  sailing,  and 
e  none  to  tell 
iem  by.  But 
ire  for  all  the 

)ose  ourselves 
h ;  and  if  not 
kt  ane,  a  bell 
down  with  a 
nd  another  of 
ice,  cold  ham, 
!ss  of  rare  hot 
inties;  eat  as 
ipetitfts  now); 
t.  If  the  fixe 
t  pretty  cheet^ 


ftiL  If  it  w(mt,  we  all  remark  to  each  other  that 
it's  very  cold,  nib  our  hands^  cover  ourselves 
with  coats  and  cloaks,  and  he  down  again  to 
doze,  talk,  and  read  (provided  as  aforesaid)  until 
dinner-time.  At  five,  another  beli  rings,  and  the 
stewardess  reappears  with  another  dish  of  pota- 
toes—boiled,  this  time— and  store  of  hot  meat  of 
various  kinds:  not  forgetting  the  toast  pig,  to  be 
taken  medicinally.  We  sit  down  at  table  again 
(rather  more  cheerfully  than  before) ;  prolong 
the  meal  with  a  rather  mouldy  dessert  oi^apples. 
grapes,  and  oranges:  and  drink  our  wine  and 
Drandy-and- water.  The  bottles  and  glasses  are 
still  upon  the  table,  and  the  oranges,  and  so  forth, 
are  rolling  about  according  to  their  fancy  and 
the  ship's  way,  when  the  doctor  comes  down,  by 
special  nightly  invitation,  to  join  our  evening 
rubber:  immediately  on  whose  arrival  we  make 
a  party  at  whist,  and  as  it  is  a  rough  night  and 
the  cards  will  not  lie  on  the  cloth,  we  put  the 
tricks  in  our  pockets  as  we  take  them.  At  whist 
we  remain  with  exemplary  gravity  (deducting  a 
short  time  for  tea  and  toast)  until  eleven  o'clock, 
<ir  thereabout;  when  the  captain  comes  down 
again,  in  a  sou'-wester  hat  tied  under  his  chin, 
and  a  pilot-coat :  making  the  ground  wet  where 
he  stands.  By  this  time  the  cara-playing  is  over, 
and  the  bottles  and  glasses  are  again  upon  the 
table ;  and  after  an  hour's  pleasant  conversation 
about  the  ship,  the  passengers,  and  things  in 
general,  the  captain  (who  never  goes  to  bed,  and 
IS  never  out  othumour)  turns  up  his  coat  collar 
for  the  deck  again;  shakes  hands  all  around;  and 
goes  laughing  out  into  the  weather  as  merrily  as 
to  a  birdi-day  party. 

As  to  dai./  news,  there  is  no  dearth  of  that 
commodity.  This  passenger  is  reported  to  have 
lost  fourteen  poonds  at  Vingt-et-un  in  the  saloon 
yesterday,  and  that  passenger  drinks  his  bottk 
of  Champagne  every  dar,  aoid  how  he  does  it  (be> 
ing  only  a  derk),  nobody  knows.  The  head  en- 
gineer DBS  distinctly  said  that  there  never  was 
such  times — meaning  weather-^-and  four  good 
hands  are  ill,  and  have  given  in,  dead  beat.  Sev- 
eral berths  are  full  of  water,  and  all  the  cabins  are 
l6aky.  The  ship's  cook,  secretly  swigging  dam- 
aged whiskey,  has  been  foiud  drunk;  and  has 
Men  idayed  upon  by  the  fire-engine  n  .til  quite 
sober.  All  the  stewards  have  faflea  down  stairs 
at  various  dinner-times,  and  go  about  with  plas- 
ters in  various  places.  The  naker  is  ill,  and  so 
is  the  pastry-cook.  A  new  man,  horribly  indis- 
posed, has  Deen  required  to  fill  the  place  of  the 
latter  officer;  and  has  been  propped  and  jammed 
op  with  empty  casks  in  a  little  noose  upon  deck, 
and  commanded  to  roll  out  pie-cmst,  which  he 
protests  (being  highly  bilious)  it  is  death  to  him 
to  look  at  News  I  A  dozen  murders  on  shore 
would  lack  the  intei'cst  of  these  slight  incidents 
at  sea. 

Divided  bctw^-n  our  rubber  and  such  topics 
as  these,  we  were  running  (as  we  thought)  into 
Halifax  Harbour,  on  the  fifteenth  night,  with  lit- 
tle wind  and  a  bright  moon — indeed,  we  had  made 
the  Light  at  its  outer  entrance,  ana  put  the  pilot 
in  chai|;e — when  suddenly  the  ship  struck  upon  a 
bank  of  mud.    An  immediate  rush  on  deck  took 

})lace  of  course ;  the  sides  were  crowded  in  an 
nstant ;  and  for  a  few  minutes  we  were  in  as 
lively  a  state  of  confusion  as  the  greatest  lover 
of  disorder  would  desire  to  see.  The  nasi«engers, 
and  guns,  and  water-casks,  and  other  neavy  mat- 
ters, oeing  all  huddled  together  aft,  however,  to 
lighten  .her  in  the  head,  she  was  soon  got  off*;  and 
after  some  driving  on  towards  an  uncomfortable 


line  of  objects  (whose  vicinity  had  been  an- 
nounced very  early  in  the  disaster  by  a  loud  ciy 
of  "  Breakers  a-head  \")  and  much  backing  of 
paddles,  and  heaving  ofthe  lead  into  a  constant- 
ly decreasing  depth  of  water,  we  dropped  anchor 
in  a  svrange,  outlandish-looking  nook  which  no- 
body on  board  could  recognise,  although  there 
was  land  all  about  us,  and  so  close  that  we  could 
plainly  see  the  waving  branches  ofthe  trees. 

It  was  strange  enough,  in  the  silence  of  mid- 
night, and  the  dead  stillness  that  seemed  to  be 
created  by  the  sudt^en  and  unexpected  stoppage 
ofthe  engine,  which  had  been  clanking  and  olast- 
ing  in  our  ears  incessantly  for  so  many  days,  to 
watch  the  look  of  blank  astonishment  expressed 
in  every  face :  beginning  with  the  officers,  trar 
cing  it  through  all  the  passengers,  and  descend- 
ing to  the  very  stivers  and  furnace-men,  who 
emerged  from  below,  one  by  one,  and  clustered 
together  in  a  smoky  group  about  the  hatchway 
ot  the  engine-room,  comparing  notes  in  whispers. 
After  throwing  up  a  few  rockets  and  firing  sig- 
nal-guns in  the  hopes  of  being  hailed  from  the 
land,  or  at  least  of  seeing  a  light — but  wi^out 
any  other  sight  or  sound  presenting  itself — it 
was  determined  to  send  a  boat  on  shore.  It  was 
amusing  to  observe  how  very  kind  some  of  the 
passengers  were,  in  volunteering  to  go  ashore  in 
this  same  boat :  for  the  general  good,  of  course : 
not  by  any  means  because  they  thought  the  ship 
in  an  unsafe  position,  or  contemplated  the  possi- 
bility of  her  heeling  over  in  case  the  tide  were 
mnning  opt.  Nor  was  it  less  amusing  to  remark 
how  desperately  unpopular  the  poor  puot  became 
in  one  snort  minute.  He  had  bad  his  passage 
out  from  Liverpool,  and  during  the  whole  voy- 
age had  been  quite  a  notorious  character,  as  a 
teller  of  anecdotes  and  cracker  of  jokes.  Yet 
here  were  the  very  men  who  had  knghed  the 
loudest  at  his  jests,  now  flourishing  their  fists  in 
his  face,  loading  him  with  imraecations,  and  de- 
fying him  to  his  teeth  as  a  viUainl 

The  boat  soon  shoved  off,  with  a  lantern  and 
sundry  bloe  lights  en  board ;  and  in  less  than  an 
hour  returned;  the  o£ker  in  command  bringing 
with  him  a  tolerably  tall  yoting  tree,  which  he 
had  plucked  up  by  the  roots,  to  satisfy  certain 
distmstftal  passengers  whose  minds  misgave  tlMsm 
that  they  were  to  be  imposed  upon  and  ship- 
wrecked, and  who  wonU  on  no  <Kher  terms  be- 
lieve that  he  had  been  ashore,  or  had  done  any- 
thing  but  firandulently  row  a  little  way  into  the 
mist,  especially  to  deceive  them,  and  compws 
their  deaths.  Our  captain  had  foreseen  fiom  the 
first  that  we  most  be  in  a  place  called  the  Eastern 
Passa^ ;  and  so  we  were.  It  was  about  the  last 
place  in  the  world  in  which  we  had  any  business 
or  reason  to  be,  but  a  sudden  fog,  and  some  er.xKr 
on  the  pik>t's  part,  were  the  cause.  We  ware 
surrounded  by  banks  and  rocks,  and  shoals  of  aii 
kinds,  but  had  happily  drifted,  it  seemed,  upon 
the  only  safe  speck  that  was  to  be  found  there- 
about. Eased  oy  this  report,  and  by  the  assu- 
rance that  the  tide  was  past  the  ebb,  we  turned  in 
at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

I  was  dressing  about  half  past  nine  next  day, 
when  the  noise  above  hurried  me  on  deck.  When 
I  had  left  it  over  night,  it  was  dark,  foggy,  and 
damp,  and  there  were  bleak  hills  all  round  us. 
Now,  we  were  gliding  down  a  smooth,  broad 
stream,  at  the  rate  of  eleven  miles  an  hour:  our 
colours  flying  gayly;  our  crew  rigged  out  in  their 
smartest  clothes;  our  officers  in  uniform  again; 
the  sun  shining  as  on  a  brilliant  April  day  in 
EngUmd;  the  land  stretched  out  on  either  side^ 


IS 


NOTES  ON   AMERICA. 


•treaked  with  light  patches  of  snow;  white  wood- 
en houses;  people  at  their  doors;  telegraphs 
working;  flaes  hoisted;  wharfs  appearing;  ships; 

3 nays  crowded  with  people;  distant  noises; 
bouts;  men  and  boys  running  down  steep  places 
towards  the  pier :  all  mure  bright  and  gay  and 
ft«sh  to  our  unused  eyes  than  words  can  paint 
them.  We  came  to  a  wharf,  paved  with  uplifted 
faces;  got  alongside,  and  were  made  fast,  after 
some  snouting  and  straining  of  cables ;  darted,  a 
score  of  us,  along  the  gangway,  almost  as  soon 
as  it  was  thrust  out  to  meet  us,  and  before  it  had 
reached  the  ship,  and  leaped  upon  the  firm  glad 
earth  again ! 

I  suppose  this  Halifax  would  have  appeared  an 
Elysium,  though  it  had  been  a  curiosity  of  ugly 
dullness.  But  I  carried  away  with  me  a  most 
pleasant  impression  of  the  town  and  its  inhabi- 
tants, and  have  preserved  it  to  this  hour.  Nor  was 
it  without  regret  that  I  came  home,  without  hav- 
ing found  an  opportunity  of  returning  thither,  and 
ones  more  shaking  hands  with  the  friends  I  made 
that  day. 

Ithappened  to  be  the  opcningof  the  Legislative 
Council  and  General  Assembly,  at  which  cere- 
monial the  forms  observed  on  the  commence- 
ment of  a  new  session  of  Parliament  in  England 
were  so  closely  copied,  and  so  gravely  presented 
on  a  small  scale,  that  it  was  like  looking  at  West- 
minster through  the  wrong  end  of  a  telescope. 
The  governor,  as  her  majesty's  representative, 
delivered  what  may  be  called  the  speech  from 
the  throne.  He  said  what  he  had  to  say  man- 
fully and  well.  The  military  band  outside  the 
building  struck  up  "  God  save  the  dueen"  with 
great  vigour  before  his  excellency  had  quite 
finished;  the  people  shouted;  the  in's  rubbed 
their  hands;  the  out's  shook  their  heads;  the 
government  party  said  there  never  was  such  a 
good  speech  ;  the  opposition  declared  there  never 
was  such  a  bad  one ;  the  speaker  and  members 
of  the  House  of  Assembly  withdrew  from  the  bar 
to  say  a  great  deal  among  themselves  and  do  a 
little;  and,  in  short,  everything  went  on,  and 
promised  to  go  on,  just  as  it  does  at  home  upon 
the  like  occasions. 

The  town  is  built  on  the  side  of  a  hill,  the 
highest  point  being  commanded  by  a  strong 
fortress,  not  yet  quite  finished.  Several  streets 
of  good  breadth  and  appearance  extend  from  its 
sanunit  to  the  water-side,  and  are  intersected  by 
cross  streets  running  parallel  with  tlie  river.  The 
houses  are  chiefly  of  wood.  The  market  is  abun- 
dantly supplied ;  and  provisions  are  exceedingly 
cheap.  "The  weather  being  unusually  mild  at 
that  time  for  the  season  of  the  year,  there  was  no 
sleighing ;  but  there  were  plenty  of  those  vehicles 
in  yards  and  by-places,  and  some  of  them,  from 
the  gorgeous  quality  of  their  decorations,  mis^ht 
have  "gone  on"  without  alteration  as  triumphal 
cars  in  a  melo-drama  at  Astley's.  The  day  was 
uncommonly  fine;  the  air  bracing  and  healthful ; 
the  whole  aspect  of  the  town  cheerful,  thriving, 
and  industrious. 

We  lay  there  seven  hours  to  deliver  and  ex- 
change tne  mails.  At  length,  having  collected 
all  our  bags  and  all  our  passengers  (incliuling 
two  or  three  choice  spirits  who,  having  indulged 
too  freely  in  oysters  and  Champagne,  w^ere  found 
lying  insensible  on  their  backs  in  unfrequented 
streets),  the  engines  were  iigain  put  in  motion, 
and  we  stood  oflTfor  Boston. 

Encountering  squally  weather  ag^in  in  the 
Bay  of  Fundy,  we  tumbled  and  rolled  about  as 
osoal  all  that  night  and  all  next  day.    On  the 
L 


next  afternoon,  that  is  to  say,  on  Saturday,  tht 
twenty-second  of  January,  an  American  pilot- 
boat  came  alongside,  and  soon  aflerward,  the 
Britannia  steam-packet,  from  Liverpool,  eigh- 
teen days  out,  was  telegraphed  at  Boston. 

The  indescribable  interestwith  which  I  strain- 
ed my  eyes,  as  the  first  patches  of  American  soil 
peeped  like  molehills  from  the  green  sea,  and 
loUowed  them,  as  they  swelled,  by  slow  and  al- 
most imperceptible  degrees,  into  a  continuous 
line  of  coast,  can  haraly  be  exaggerated.  A 
sharp,  keen  wind,  blew  dead  against  us;  a  hard 
frost  prevailed  on  shore ;  and  the  cold  was  most 
/severe;  yet  the  air  was  so  intensely  clear,  and 
dry,  and  bright,  that  the  temperature  was  not 
only  endurable,  but  delicious. 

How  I  remained  on  deck  staring  about  me 
until  we  came  alongside  the  dock,  and  how, 
though  I  had  had  as  many  eyes  as  Argus,  I 
should  have  had  them  all  wide  open,  and  all  em- 
ployed on  new  objects,  are  topics  which  I  will 
not  prolong  this  chapter  to  discuss.  Neither  will 
I  more  than  hint  at  my  foreigner-like  mistake  in 
supposing  that  a  party  of  most  active  persons, 
who  scrambled  on  board  at  the  peril  of  their 
lives  as  we  approached  the  wharf,  were  news- 
men, answering  to  that  industrious  class  at 
home ;  whereas,  despite  the  leathern  wallets  of 
news  slung  about  tne  necks  of  some,  and  the 
broad  sheets  in  the  hands  of  all,  they  were  edi- 
tors, who  boarded  ships  in  person  (as  one  gentle- 
man in  a  worsted  comforter  informed  me),  "  be- 
cause they  liked  the  excitement  of  it."  Suffice 
it'in  this  place  to  say,  that  one  of  these  invaders, 
with  a  ready  courtesy  for  which  I  thank  him  here 
most  gratefully,  went  on  before  to  order  rooms 
at  the  hotel ;  and  that  when  I  followed,  as  1  soon 
did,  I  found  myself  rolling  through  the  long  pas- 
sages with  an  involuntary  imitation  of  the  gait 
of  Mr.  T.  P.  Cooke,  in  a  new  nautical  melo- 
drama. 
"Dinner,  if  you  please,"  said  I  to  the  waiter. 
"  When  1"  said  the  waiter. 
"  As  quick  as  possible,"  said  I. 
"  Right  away  r'  said  the  waiter. 
After  a  moment's  hesitation,  I  answered, 
"No,"  at  hazard. 

"  Not  right  away  1"  cried  the  waiter,  with  an 
amount  of  surprise  that  made  me  start. 

I  looked  at  him  doubtfully,  and  returned, "  No, 
I  would  rather  have  it  in  this  private  room.  I 
like  it  very  much." 

'  At  this,  I  really  thought  the  waiter  must  have 
gone  out  of  his  mind ;  as  I  believe  he  would  have 
done,  but  for  the  interposition  of  another  maa, 
who  whispered  in  his  ear,  "  Directly." 

"Well!  and  that's  a  fact!"  said  the  waiter, 
looking  helplessly  at  me:  "  Right  away." 

I  saw  now  that  "  Right  away"  and  "  Direct- 
ly" were  one  and  the  same  thing.  So  I  reversed 
my  previous  answer,  and  sat  down  to  dinnir  in 
ten  minutes  afterward;  and  a  capital  dinner  it 
was. 

The  hotel  (a  very  excellent  one),  is  called  the 
Tremont  House.  It  has  more,  galleries,  colon- 
nades, piazzas,  and  passa^s,  than  I  can  remem- 
ber, or  the  reader  would  believe ;  and  is  some  tri- 
Aa  smaller  than  Bedford  Square. 


CHAPTER  THE  THIRD. 

BOSTON. 

In  all  the  public  establishments  of  Amerioa 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


19 


Satoiday,  iht 
nerican  pilot- 
afterward,  the 
verpool,  eigh- 
Boston. 
which  I  strain- 
American  soil 
rreen  sea,  and 
f  slow  and  al- 

a  continuous 
aggerated.  A 
Qst  us ;  a  hard 
[wid  was  most 
ely  clear,  and 
uure  was  not 

ing  about  me 
XK,  and  how, 
}  as  Argus,  I 
:n,and  all  em- 
i  which  I  will 
Neither  will 
ike  mistake  in 
iclive  persons, 
peril  of  their 
ri,  were  ncws- 
ious  class  at 
em  wallets  of 
some,  and  the 
they  were  edi- 
(as  one  gentle- 
ned  me),  "  be- 
)t'  it."  Suffice 
these  invaders, 
hank  him  here 
0  order  rooms 
>wed,  as  I  soon 
li  tite  long  pas- 
on  of  the  gait 
autical  melo- 

to  the  waiter. 


I  answered, 

aiter,  with  an 
start. 

etumed, "  No, 
rate  room.    I 

ter  must  have 
le  would  have 
another  maa. 
ly." 

d  the  waiter, 
iway." 

and  "  Direct- 
So  I  reversed 
to  dinner  in 
ital  dinner  it 

is  called  the 
lerieis,  colon- 
[  can  reidem- 
d  is  some  tri- 


ID. 

I  of  AmeriM 


tiie  ntmmit  Hurteay  prevatla.  Most  of  onr  de- 
partments are  susceptible  of  considerable  im- 
provement in  this  respect,  but  the  Custom-bouee, 
above  all  others,  would  do  well  to  take  example 
from  the  United  Statesv  and  render  itself  some- 
what less  odious  and  offensive  to  foreigners. 
The  servile  rapacity  of  the  French  officials  is 
sufficiently  contemptible,  but  there  is  a  surly, 
boorish  incivility  about  our  men,  alike  di;^^'<tit- 
ing  te  all  persons  who  fall  into  their  hand  -  -^d 
discreditable  to  the  nation  that  keeps  &i<  M- 
conditioned  curs  snarling  about  its  gates. 

When  I  landed  in  America,  I  could  not  help 
being  strongly  impressed  with  the  contrast  their 
Custom  house  presented,  and  the  attention,  po- 
liteness, and  good  humour  with  which  its  offi- 
cers discharged  their  duty. 

As  we  did  not  land  at  Boston,  in  consequence 
of  some  detention  at  the  wharf,  until  after  dark, 
I  received  my  first  impressit^ns  of  the  city  in 
walking  down  to  the  Custom-house  on  the  morn- 
ing after  out  arrival,  wiiicli  was  Sunday.  I  am 
afraid  to  say,  by-the-way,  how  many  offers  of 
pews  and  seats  in  church  for  that  morning  were 
made  to  us,  by  formal  note  of  invitation,  before 
we  had  half  finished  our  first  dinner  in  America, 
but,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  make  a  moderate 
guess,  without  going  into  nicer  calculation,  I 
should  say  that,  at  least,  as  many  sittings  were 
proffered  us  as  would  have  accommodated  a 
score  or  two  of  grown-up  families.  The  num- 
ber of  creeds  and  lorms  of  religion  to  which  the 
pleasure  of  our  company  was  requested  was  in 
very  fair  proportion 

Not  being  able,  in  .he  absence  of  any  change 
of  clothes,  to  go  to  church  that  day,  we  were 
compelled  to  decline  liiese  kindnesses  one  and 
all ;  and  I  was  reluctnutly  obliged  to  forego  the 
delight  of  hearing  Dr.  Channing,  who  happened 
to  preach  that  morning  for  the  first  time  in  a 
▼ery  long  interval.  I  iii<;ntion  the  name  of  this 
distinguished  and  accemplished  man  (with  whom 
I  soon  afterward  had  the  pleasure  of  becoming 
personally  acquainted),  that  I  may  have  the 
gratification  of  recording  my  humble  tribute  of 
admiration  and  respect  for  his  high  abilities  and 
character,  and  for  the  bold  philanthropy  with 
which  he  has  ever  opposed  himself  to  that  most 
hideous  blot  and  foul  disgrace — Slavery. 

To  return  to  Boston.  When  I  got  into  the 
streets  upon  this  Sunday  morning,  the  air  was 
■o  clear,  the  houses  were  so  bright  and  gay,  the 
signboards  were  painted  in  such  gaudy  colours, 
the  gilded  letters  were  so  very  golden,  the  bricks 
were  so  very  red,  the  stone  was  so  very  white, 
the  blinds  and  area  railings  were  so  very  green, 
the  knobs  and  plates  upon  the  street-doors  so 
marvellously  bright  and  twinkling,  and  all  so 
elight  and  unsubstantial  in  appearance,  that  ev- 
ery thoroughfare  in  the  city  looked  exactly  like 
a  scene  in  a  pantomime.  It  rarely  happens  in 
the  business  streets  that  a  tradesman,  if  I  may 
venture  to  call  anybody  a  tradesman,  where 
everybody  is  a  merchant,  resides  above  his 
store,  so  that  many  occupations  are  carried  on 
in  one  house,  and  the  whole  front  is  covered 
with  boards  and  inscriptions.  As  I  walked  along, 
I  kept  glancing  up  at  these  boards,  confidently 
expecting  to  see  a  few  of  them  change  into 
something ;  and  I  never  turned  a  corner  sud- 
denly without  looking  out  for  the  clown  and  pan- 
taloon, who,  I  had  no  doubt,  were  hiding  in  a 


doorway  or  behind  some  pillar  close  at  hud. 
As  to  Harlequin  and  Columbine,,  I  discovered 
immediately  that  they  lodged  (they  are  always 
looking  after  lodgings  in  a  pantomime)  at  a  very 
small  clock- maker's,  one  story  high,  near  the 
hotel;  which,  in  addition  to  various  symbols 
and  devices,  almost  covering  the  whole  front, 
had  a  great  dial  hanging  out — to  be  jumped 
through,  of  course. 

The  suburbs  are,  if  possible,  even  more  un- 
substantial-looking than  the  city.  The  white 
wooden  houses  (so  white  that  it  makes  one 
wink  to  look  at  them),  with  their  green  jalousie 
blinds,  are  so  sprinkled  and  dropped  about  in  all 
directions,  without  seeming  to  have  any  root  at 
all  in  the  ground,  and  the  small  Qlmrches  and 
chapels  are  so  prim,  and  bright,  and  highly  var- 
nished, that  I  almost  believed  the  whole  affair 
could  be  taken  up  piecemeal  like  a  child's  toy, 
and  crammed  into  a  little  box. 

The  city  is  a  beautiful  one,  and  cannot  fail,  I 
should  imagine,  to  impress  all  strangers  very 
favourably.  The  private  dwelling-houses  are, 
for  the  most  part,  large  and  elegant,  the  shops 
extremely  good,  and  the  public  buildings  hand- 
some. The  State  House  is  built  upon  the  sum- 
mit of  a  hill,  which  risos  gradually  at  first,  and 
aflerward  by  a  steep  ascent,  almost  from  the 
water's  edge.  In  front  is  a  green  enclosure^ 
called  the  Common.  The  site  is  beautiful,  and 
from  the  top  there  is  a  charming  panoramic 
view  of  the  whole  town  and  neighbourhood.  In 
addition  to  a  variety  of  commodious  offices,  it 
contains  two  handsome  chambers :  in  one  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  State  hold  their 
meetings,  in  the  other,  the  Senate.  Such  pro- 
ceedings as  I  saw  here  were  conducted  with 
perfect  gravity  and  decorum,  and  were  certainly 
calculated  to  inspire  attention  and  respect. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  much  of  the  intellec- 
tual refinement  and  superiority  of  Boston  is 
referable  to  the  quiet  influence  of  the  University 
of  Cambridge,  which  is  within  three  or  four 
miles  of  the  city.  The  resident  professors  at 
that  university  are  gentlemen  of  learning  and 
varied  attainments,  and  are,  without  one  excep- 
tion that  I  can  call  to  mind,  men  who  would 
shed  a  grace  upon,  and  do  honour  to,  any  soci- 
ety in  the  civilized  world.  Many  of  the  resi- 
dent gentry  in  Boston  and  its  neighbourhood* 
and  I  think  I  am  not  mistaken  in  adding  a  large 
majority  of  those  who  are  attached  to  the  liberal 
professions  there,  have  been  educated  at  this 
same  school.  Whatever  the  defects  of  Ameri- 
can universities  may  be,  they  disseminate  no 
prejudices ;  rear  no  bigots ;  dig  up  the  buried 
ashes  of  no  old  superstitions ;  never  interpose 
between  the  people  and  their  improvement ;  ex- 
clude no  man  because  of  his  religious  opinions ; 
above  all,  in  their  whole  course  of  study  and  in- 
struction, recognise  a  world,  and  a  broad  one 
too,  lying  beyond  the  college  walls. 

It  was  a  source  of  inexp'essible  pleasure  to 
me  to  observe  the  almost  imperceptible,  but  not 
less  certain  effect  wrought  by  this  institution 
among  the  small  community  of  Boston,  and  to 
note  at  every  turn  the  humanizing  tastes  and 
desires  it  has  engendered  ;  the  affectionate 
friendships  to  which  it  has  given  rise ;  the 
amount  of  vanity  and  prejudice  it  has  dispelled. 
The  golden  calf  tliey  worship  at  Boston  is  a, 
pigmy  compared  with  the  giant  effigies  set  up  in 


14 


NOTES  ON  AMEHICA. 


other  pMto  ef  fhat  vast  conotinf-honae  which 
Hea  bqpond  the  Atlaatio ;  and  the  abni|hty  dot- 
lar  aiaka  iaio  aamethtng  oemparatively  inaignUI- 
eant  amid  a  whole  Pantheon  of  better  geda. 

kbirre  aR,  I  aknoerely  believe  that  the  public 
inatitntioiw  and  oharitiea  ofthia  capital  of  Mas- 
aaehuaetta  are  as  nearly  perfect  as  the  most 
eonsiderate  wisdom,  benevolence,  and  humanity 
can  make  them.  I  never  in  my  life  was  more 
aflbcted  by  the  contemplation  of  happiness,  un- 
der oircomstanees  of  privation  and  bereavement, 
than  in  my  visits  to  these  establishments. 

It  is  a  great  and  pleasant  feature  of  all  such 
institutions  m  America,  that  they  are  either 
auppoited  by  the  state  or  assisted  by  the  state, 
or  (in  the  event  of  their  not  needing  its  helping 
hand)  that  ther  act  in  concert  with  it,  and  are 
emphatically  the  people's.  I  cannot  but  think, 
with  a  view  to  the  principle  and  its  tendency  to 
elevate  or  depress  the  character  of  the  industri- 
ous classes,  that  a  public  charity  is  immeasura- 
bly better  than  a  private  foundation,  no  matter 
how  munificently  the  latter  may  be  endowed. 
In  our  own  country,  where  it  has  not,  until 
within  these  later  days,  been  a  very  popular 
fashion  with  governments  to  display  any  extra- 
ordinary regard  for  the  great  mass  of  the  people, 
or  to  recognise  their  existence  as  improvable 
creatures,  private  charities,  unexampled  in  the 
history  of  the  earth,  have  arisen,  to  do  an  incal- 
culable amount  of  good  among  the  destitute  and 
afflicted.  But  the  government  of  the  country, 
having  neither  act  nor  part  in  them,  is  not  in 
the  receipt  of  any  portion  of  the  gratitude  they 
inspire ;  and,  oflering  very  little  shelter  or  re- 
lief beyond  that  which  is  to  be  found  in  the 
workhouse  and  the  jail,  has  come,  not  unnatu- 
rally, to  be  looked  upon  by  the  poor  rather  as  a 
stern  master,  quick  to  correct  and  punish,  than 
a  kind  protector,  merciful  and  vigilant  in  their 
hour  of  need. 

The  maxim  that  out  of  evil  cometh  good,  is 
strongly  illustrated  by  these  establishments  at 
home,  as  the  records  of  the  Prerogative  OfSce 
in  Doctors'  Commons  can  abundantly  prove. 
Some  immensely  rich  old  gentleman  or  lady, 
surrounded  by  needy  relatives,  makes,  upon  a 
low  average,  a  will  a  week.  The  old  gentle- 
man or  lady,  never  very  remarkable,  in  the  best 
of  times,  for  good  temper,  is  full  of  aches  and 
pains  from  head  to  foot ;  full  of  fancies  and  ca- 
prices ;  fnll  of  spleen,  distrust,  suspicion,  and 
dislike.  To  cancel  old  wills  and  invent  new 
ones,  is,  at  last,  the  sole  business  of  such  a  tes- 
tator's existence;  and  relations  and  friends 
(some  of  whom  have  been  bred  up  distinctly  to 
inherit  a  large  share  of  the  property,  and  have 
been,  from  their  cradles,  specially  disqualified 
from  devoting  themselves  to  any  useful  pursuit 
on  that  account),  are  so  often  and  so  unexpect- 
edly and  summarily  cut  off,  and  reinstated,  and 
cut  off  again,  that  the  whole  'amily,  down  to  the 
remotest  cousin,  is  kept  in  a  perpetual  fever. 
At  length  it  becomes  plain  that  the  old  lady  or 
gentleman  has  not  long  to  live ;  and  the  plainer 
this  becomes,  the  more  clearly  the  old  lady  or 
gentleman  perceives  that  everybody  is  in  a  con- 
spiracy against  their  poor  old  dying  relative; 
wherefore  the  old  lady  or  gentleman  makes  an- 
other last  will — positively  the  last  this  time — 
eonceals  the  same  in  a  china  teapot,  and  expires 
next  day.    Then  it  turns  out  that  the  whole  of 


the  real  an^  personal  eatate  is  divided  between 
half  a  doien  eharities ;  and  that  the  dead  and 
gone  teatator  has,  in  pure  spite,  hrtped  to  do  a 
great  deal  of  good,  at  the  cost  of  an  immeoae 
amount  of  evil  passion  and  misery. 

The  Peihins  Institution  and  Massaehusetta 
Asyhim  for  the  Blind,  at  Boston,  is  superintend- 
ed by  a  body  of  tmstees,  who  make  an  annual 
report  to  the  corporation.  The  mdigent  blind 
of  that  atate  are  admitted  gratuitously.  Thoso 
from  the  adjoining  state  of  (Soonecticnt,  or  fnan 
the  states  of  Maine,  Vermont,  or  New-Hamp> 
shire,  are  admitted  by  a  warrant  from  the  state 
to  which  they  respectively  belong ;  or,  CiiMnf 
that,  must  find  security  among  th«r  friends  for 
the  payment  of  about  twenty  pounds  English, 
for  their  first  year's  board  and  instraction,  ami 
ten  for  the  second.  "After  the  first  year,"  say 
the  trustees,  '*  an  account  current  will  be  openeSi 
with  each  pupil :  he  will  be  charged  with  the 
actual  cost  of  his  board,  which  will  not  exceed 
two  doUara  per  week,"  a  trifle  more  than  eight 
shillings  English ;  "  and  he  will  be  credited  with 
the  amount  paid  for  him  by  the  state,  or  by  his 
friends ;  also  with  his  earnings  over  and  above 
the  cost  of  the  stock  which  he  uses ;  so  that  all 
his  earnings  over  one  dollar  per  week,  will  be  his 
own.  By  the  third  year  it  will  be  known  wheth- 
er his  earnings  will  more  than  pay  the  actual  cost 
of  his  board ;  if  they  should,  he  will  have  it  at  hia 
option  to  remain  and  receive  his  earnings,  or 
not.  I'hose  who  prove  unable  to  earn  their  own 
livelihood  will  not  be  retained,  as  it  is  not  de- 
sirable to  convert  tile  establishment  into  an 
almshouse,  or  to  retain  any  but  working-bees  in 
the  hi^e.  Those  who,  by  physical  or  mental 
inibecit  ty,  are  disqualified  for  work,  are  thereby 
disqua  tied  from  being  membere  of  an  industri- 
01  s  co^  munity ;  and  they  can  be  better  provided 
f(  r  in  f:-^tablishments  fitted  for  the  infirm." 

I  went  to  see  this  place  one  very  fine  winter 
morning;  an  Italian  sky  above,  and  the  air  so 
clear  and  bright  on  every  side,  that  even  my 
eyes,  which  are  none  of  the  best,  cuuld  follow 
tie  minute  lines  and  scraps  of  tracery  in  distant 
buildings.  Like  most  other  public  institution* 
in  America  of  the  same  class,  it  stands  a  mile 
or  two  without  the  town,  in  a  cheerful,  healthy 
spot,  ai^d  is  an  airy,  spacious,  handsome  edifice. 
It  is  built  upon  a  height  commanding  the  har- 
bour. When  I  paused  for  a  moment  at  the  door, 
and  marked  how  fresh  and  free  the  whole  scene 
was,  what  sparkling  bubbles  glanced  upon  the 
waves,  and  welled  up  every  moment  to  the  sur- 
face, as  though  the  world  below,  like  that  above, 
were  radiant  with  the  bright  day,  and  gushing 
over  in  its  fulness  of  light ;  when  I  gazed  from 
sail  to  sail  away  upon  a  ship  at  sea,  a  tiny  speck 
of  shining  white,  the  only  cloud  upon  the  still, 
deep,  distant  blue — and,  turning,  saw  a  blind 
boy  with  his  sightless  face  addressed  that  way, 
as  though  he  too  had  some  sense  within  him  of 
the  glorious  distance.  I  felt  a  kind  of  sorrow 
that  the  place  shoulo  he  so  very  light,  and  a 
strange  wish  that,  for  1.^3  sake,  it  were  darker. 
It  was  but  momentary  of  course,  and  a  mere 
fancy,  but  I  felt  it  keenly  for  all  that. 

The  children  were  at  their  daily  tasks  in  dif- 
ferent rooms,  except  a  few  who  were  already 
dismissed,  and  were  at  play.  Here,  as  in  many 
institutions,  no  uniform  is  worn ;  and  I  was  very 
glad  of  it,  for  two  reasons.     First,  because  I 


j      her 


NOTES  ON   AMERICA. 


» 


ndcd  b6twcMi 

the  dead  and 

helped  to  do  • 

f  an  immcDae 


li. 


ichuaetto 
ia  auperintend- 
ake  an  ananal 
indigent  bliadl 
oa»\j.  Thoao 
icttcat,  or  froaa 
r  NeMr>Hain|K 
from  the  atat« 
ig;  or,  CiiUiv 
leir  friend*  for 
wada  English, 
istraction,  anA 
Srat  year,*'  aay 
wdl  be  openeii 
irged  with  the 
rill  not  exceed 
ore  than  eight 
e  credited  with 
itate,  or  by  his 
lyer  and  above 
es ;  ao  that  all 
eek,  will  be  his 
known  whetb- 
the  actual  cost 
U  have  it  at  his 
IS  earnings,  or 
earn  their  own 
IS  it  is  not  de- 
iment  into  an 
rorking-bees  in 
ical  or  mental 
rk,  are  thereby 
of  an  industri- 
)etter  provided 
B  infirm." 
ery  fine  winter 
and  the  air  so 
that  even  my 

ouuld  follow 
icery  in  distant 
lie  institution* 
stands  a  mile 
eerful,  healthy 
idsome  edifice, 
iding  the  har- 
nt  at  the  door, 
le  whole  scene 
iced  upon  the 
ent  to  the  sur- 
ike  that  above, 
r,  and  gushing' 

I  gazed  from 
a,  a  tiny  speck 
upon  the  still, 

saw  a  blind 
ssed  that  way, 
within  him  of 
ind  of  sorrow 
y  light,  and  a 

were  darker, 
e,  and  a  mere 
lat. 
y  tasks  in  dif« 

were  already 
re,  as  in  many 
tnd  I  was  very 
rat,  because  I 


he 
1     be 


an  Mire  that  nothing  bat  senseless  custom  and 
«  am  of  thought  would  reconcile  us  to  the  liveries 
and  badgeii  we  are  so  fond  of  at  home.  Secondly, 
because  the  absence  of  these  things  presents 
each  ciiiid  to  the  visiter  in  his  or  her  own  proper 
cbaracier,  with  its  individuaiay  unimpaired ;  not 
lost  m  a  dull,  ugly  mono  onous  repetition  of  the 
same  unmeaning  garb,  which  is  really  an  im- 
poi  tdiit  consideration.  The  wisdom  of  encour- 
aging a  little  harmless  pride  in  personal  appear- 
ance even  among  the  blind,  or  the  whimsical 
absurdity  of  considering  charity  and  leather 
b.eeches  inseparable  companions,  as  we  do,  re- 
quires no  comment. 

Good  order,  cleanliness,  and  comfort,  perva- 
ded every  corner  of  the  building.  The  various 
elaases,  who  were  gathered  round  their  teach- 
ers, answered  the  questions  put  to  them  with 
readiness  and  intelligence,  and  in  a  spirit  of 
cheerful  contest  lor  precedence  which  pleased 
me  very  much.  Those  who  were  at  play  were 
glee«oiiie  and  noisy  as  other  children.  More 
spiritual  and  aftectiunate  friendships  appeared 
to  exist  among  them  than  would  be  found  among 
other  young  persons  audering  under  no  depriva- 
tion ;  but  this  I  expected,  and  was  prepared  to 
find.  It  is  a  part  of  ihe  great  scheme  of  Heav- 
en's merciful  consideration  lor  the  afiilicted. 

In  a  purtiun  of  the  building  set  apart  for  that 
purpose,  are  workshops  for  blind  persons  whose 
education  is  finished,  and  who  have  acquired  a 
trade,  but  who  cannot  pursue  it  in  an  ordinary 
mamifactory  because  of  their  deprivation.  Sev- 
eral peupte  were  work  at  here,  making  brushes, 
mattresses,  and  so  forth ;  and  the  cheerfulness, 
industry,  and  good  order  discernible  in  every 
oilier  part  of  tlie  building,  extended  to  this  de- 
pai'inieiit  also. 

On  the  ringing  of  a  bell,  the  pupils  all  repair- 
ed, without  any  guide  or  leader,  to  a  spacious 
music-hallv  where  they  took  their  seats  in  an  or- 
chestra erected  for  that  purpose,  and  listened, 
with  manifest  delight,  to  a  voluntary  on  the  or- 
gan played  by  one  of  themselves.  At  its  con- 
clusion, the  performer,  a  boy  of  nineteen  or 
twenty,  gave  place  to  a  girl,  and  to  her  accom- 
paniment they  all  sang  a  hymn,  and  afterward 
a  sort  of  chorus.  It  was  very  sad  to  look  upon 
and  hear  Ihetn,  happy  though  their  condition  un- 
questionably was ;  and  I  saw  that  one  bUnd  girl 
who  (being  for  the  time  deprived  of  the  use  of 
her  limbs,  by  illness),  sat  close  beside  me  with 
her  face  towards  them,  wept  silently  while  she 

itened. 

It  is  strange  to  watch  the  faces  of  the  blind, 
and  see  how  free  they  are  from  all  concealment 
of  what  is  passing  in  their  thoughts ;  observing 
which,  a  man  with  eyes  may  blush  to  contem- 
plate the  mask  he  wears.  Allowing  for  one 
shade  of  anxious  expression  which  is  never  ab- 
sent from  their  countenances,  and  the  like  of 
which  we  may  readily  detect  in  our  own  faces 
if  we  try  to  feel  our  way  in  the  dark,  every  idea, 
as  it  rises  within  them,  is  expressed  with  the 
lightning's  speed  and  nature's  truth,  if  the 
company  at  a  rout  or  drawing-room  at  court 
could  only  for  one  time  be  as  unconscious  of  the 
eyes  upon  them  as  blind  men  and  women  are, 
what  secrets  would  come  out,  and  what  a 
worker  of  hypocrisy  this  sight,  the  loss  of  which 
we  so  much  pity,  would  appear  to  be ! 

The  thought  occurred  to  me  as  I  sat  down  in 


another  room  before  a  giri,  blind,  deaf,  and 
dumb ;  destitute  of  smell,  and  nearly  so  of  taste ; 
before  a  fair  young  creature  with  every  human 
faculty,  and  hope,  and  power  of  goodness  and 
affection,  enclosed  within  her  delicate  fhime^ 
and  but  one  outward  sense,  the  sense  of  touch. 
There  she  was  before  me,  built  up,  as  it  were, 
in  a  marble  cell,  impervious  to  any  ray  of  light 
or  particle  of  sound,  with  her  poor  white  hand 
peeping  through  a  chink  in  the  wall,  beekonine 
to  some  good  man  for  help,  that  an  immortal 
soul  might  be  awakeneci. 

Long  before  I  looked  upon  her  the  help  had 
come.  Her  face  was  radiant  with  intelligenoe 
and  pleasure.  Her  hair,  braided  by  her  own 
hands,  was  bound  about  a  head  whose  intellect* 
ual  cecity  and  development  were  beautifully 
expressed  in  its  graceful  outline  and  its  broads 
open  brow ;  her  ^ss,  arranged  by  herself  wa» 
a  pattern  of  neatness  and  simplicity ;  the  work 
she  had  knitted  lay  beside  her;  her  writing- 
book  was  on  the  desk  she  leaned  upon.  Frook 
the  mournful  ruin  of  s«ich  bereavement  there  had 
slowly  risen  up  this  gentle,  tender,  guileless^ 
grateful-hearted  being. 

Like  other  inmates  of  that  house,  she  had  a 
green  riband  bound  round  her  eyelids.  A  doU 
she  had  dressed  lay  near  her  upon  the  ground. 
I  took  it  up,  and  saw  that  she  had  made  a  green 
fillet  such  as  she  wore  herself,  and  fastened  it 
about  its  mimic  eyes. 

She  was  seated  in  a  little  inclosure,  made  by 
school-desks  and  forms,  writing  her  dayly  jour- 
nal. But  soon  finishing  this  pursuit,  she  en- 
gaged in  an  animated  communication  with  a 
teacher  who  sat  beside  her.  This  was  a  favour- 
ite mistress  with  the  poor  pupil.  If  she  could 
see  the  face  of  her  fair  instructress,  she  would 
not  love  her  less,  I  am  sure. 

I  have  extracted  a  few  disjointed  fragments 
of  her  history,  from  an  account,  written  by  that 
one  man  who  has  made  her  what  she  is.  It  ia 
a  very  beautiful  and  touching  narrative ;  and  I 
wish  I  could  present  it  entire. 

Her  name  is  Laura  Bridgman.  "She  was 
born  in  Hanover,  New- Hampshire,  on  the  twen- 
ty-first of  December,  1829.  She  is  described  as 
having  been  a  very  sprightly  and  pretty  infant, 
with  bright  blue  eyes.  She  was,  however,  so 
puny  and  feeble  until  she  was  a  year  and  a  half 
old,  that  her  parents  hardly  hoped  to  rear  her. 
She  was  subject  to  severe  fits,  which  seemed 
to  rack  her  frame  almost  beyond  her  power  of 
endurance ;  and  life  was  held  by  the  feeblest 
tenure :  but  when  a  year  and  a  half  old,  she 
seemed  to  rally ;  the  dangerous  symptoms  sub- 
sided ;  and  at  twenty  montlis  old,  she  was  per- 
fectly well." 

"  Then  her  mental  powers,  hither  stinted  in 
their  growth,  rapidly  developed  themse'ves;  and 
during  the  four  months  of  health  which  she  en- 
joyed, she  appears  (making  due  allowance  for  a 
fond  mother's  account)  to  have  displayed  a  con- 
siderable degree  of  intelligence." 

"  But  suddenly  she  sickened  again  ;  her  dis- 
ease raged  with  great  violence  during  five  weeks, 
when  her  eyes  and  ears  were  inflamed,  suppu- 
rated, and  their  contents  were  discharged.  But 
though  sight  and  hearing  were  gone  for  ever, 
the  poor  cliild's  sufferings  were  not  ended.  The 
fever  raged  during  seven  weeks ;  for  five  months 
she  was  kept  in  bed  in  a  darkened  room ;  it  was 


18 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


a  year  before  she  could  walk  unsupported,  and 
two  years  before  she  could  sit  up  all  day.  It 
was  now  observed  that  her  sense  of  smell  was 
almost  entirely  destroyed;  and,  consequently, 
that  her  taste  was  much  blunted." 

"  It  was  not  until  four  years  of  age  that  the 
poor  child's  bodily  health  seemed  restored,  and 
she  was  able  to  enter  upon  her  apprenticeship 
•of  life  and  the  world." 

"  But  what  a  situation  was  hers !  The  dark- 
ness and  the  silence  of  the  tomb  were  around 
her :  no  mother's  smile  called  forth  her  answer- 
ing smile,  no  fatlier's  voice  taught  her  tu  imitate 
his  sounds :  they,  brothers  and  sisters,  were  but 
forms  of  matter  which  resisted  her  touch,  but 
which  differed  not  from  the  furniture  of  the 
house,  save  in  warmth,  and  in  the  power  of  lo- 
comation ;  and  not  even  in  these  respects  from 
Che  dog  and  the  cat. 

"  Bat  the  immortal  spirit  which  had  been  im- 
planted within  her  could  not  die,  nor  be  maimed 
nor  mutilated  ;  and,  though  most  of  its  avenues 
of  communication  with  the  world  were  cut  off, 
it  began  to  manifest  itself  throiigh  the  others. 
As  soon  as  she  could  walk,  she  began  to  explore 
the  room,  and  then  the  hou^  ;  she  became  fa- 
miliar with  the  form,  density,  and  weight,  and 
heat,  of  every  article  she  could  lay  her  ^nds 
upon.  She  followed  her  mother,  and  felt  her 
hands  and  arms,  as  she  was  occupied  about  the 
house;  and  her  disposition  to  imitate,  led  her 
to  repeat  everything  herself.  She  even  learned 
to  sew  a  little,  and  to  knit." 

The  reader  will  scarcely  need  to  be  told,  how- 
ever, that  the  opportunities  of  communicating 
with  her,  were  very,  very  limited ;  and  that  the 
moral  effects  of  her  wretched  state  soon  began 
to  appear.  Those  who  cannot  be  enlightened 
by  reason,  can  only  be  controlled  by  force ;  and 
this,  coupled  with  her  great  privations,  must 
soon  have  reduced  her  to  a  worse  condition  than 
that  of  the  beasts  that  perish,  but  for  timely  and 
unhoped-for  aid. 

"  At  this  time,  I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  hear 
of  the  child,  and  immediately  hastened  to  Han- 
over to  see  her.  I  found  her  with  a  well-formed 
figure ;  a  strongly-marked,  nervous-sanguine 
temperament ;  a  large  and  beautiful  shaped  head, 
and  the  whole  system  in  healthy  action.  The 
parents  vrere  easily  induced  to  consent  to  her 
ooming  to  Boston,  and  on  the  4th  of  October, 
1837,  they  brought  her  to  the  Institution. 

"  For  a  while,  she  was  much  bewildered ;  and 
after  waiting  about  two  weeks,  until  she  became 
acquainted  with  her  new  locality,  and  somewhat 
familiar  with  the  inmates,  the  attempt  was  made 
to  give  her  knowledge  of  arbiti^iy  signs,  by 
which  she  could  interchange  thoughts  with 
yothers. 

/\      "  There  was  one  of  two  ways  to  be  adopted : 

either  to  go  on  to  build  up  a  language  of  signs 

on  the  basis  of  the  natural  language  which  she 

had  already  commenced  herself,  or  to  teach  her 

the  purely  arbitrary  language  in  common  use : 

that  is,  to  give  her  a  sign  for  every  individual 

'      thing,  or  to  give  her  a  knowledge  of  letters  by 

combination  of  which,  she  might  express  her 

I       idea  of  the  existence,  and  the  mode  and  condi- 

I      tion  of  existence  of  any  thing.     The  former 

I       would  havn  bcpn  easy,  but  very  ineffectual ;  the 

latter  spomcil  v(?ry  diflii^ult,  but,  if  accomplished, 

i      vriy  pfli;ctn;il.    I  dflermincd  therefore  to  try  the 

latter. 


"  The  first  experiments  were  made  by  takiof 
articles  in  common  use,  such  as  knives,  forks,, 
spoons,  keys,  dec,  and  pasting  upon  them  labels 
with  their  names  printed  in  raised  letters.  These 
she  felt  very  carefully,  and  soon,  of  course,  dis- 
tinguished that  the  crooked  hues  apoon,  differ- 
ed as  much  from  the  crooked  lines  A  ey,  as  the 
spoon  differed^  from  the  key  in  form. 

"  Then  small  detached  labels,  with  the  same 
words  printed  upon  them,  were  put  into  her 
hands ;  and  she  soon  observed  that  they  were 
similar  to  the  ones  pasted  on  the  articles.  She 
showed  her  perception  of  this  similarity  by  lay- 
ing the  label  key  upon  the  key,  and  the  label 
spoon  upon  the  spoon.  She  was  encouraged 
here  by  the  natural  sign  of  approbation,  patting 
on  the  head. 

"  The  same  process  was  then  repeated  with 
all  the  articles  which  she  could  handle ;  and  she 
very  easily  learned  to  place  the  proper  labels 
upon  them.  It  was  evident,  however,  that  the 
only  intellectual  exercise,  was  that  of  imitation 
and  memory.  She  recollected  that  the  label 
baok  was  placed  upon  a  book,  and  she  repeated 
the  process  first  from  imitation,  next  from  memo- 
ry, with  only  the  motive  of  love  of  approbation, 
but  apparently  without  the  intellectual  percep- 
tion of  any  relation  between  the  things. 

"  After  a  while,  instead  of  labels,  the  individ- 
ual letters  were  given  to  her  on  detached  bits 
of  paper :  they  were  arranged  side  by  side  so  as 
to  spell  book,  key,  &c.  ;  then  they  were  mixed 
up  in  a  heap,  and  a  sign  was  made  for  her  to  ar 
range  them  herself,  so  as  to  express  the  words 
book,  key,  &;c. ;  and  she  did  so. 

"  Hitherto,  the  process  had  been  mechanical, 
and  the  success  about  as  great  as  teaching  a 
very  knowing  dog  a  variety  of  tricks.  The  poor 
child  had  sat  in  mute  amazement,  and  patiently 
imitated  everything  her  teacher  did ;  but  now 
the  truth  began  tb  dash  upon  her :  her  intellect 
began  to  work :  she  perceived  that  here  was  a 
way  by  which  she  could  herself  make  up  a  sigii 
of  anything  that  was  in  her  own  mind,  and  show 
it.  to  another  mind ;  and  at  once  her  countenance 
lighted  up  with  a  human  expression :  it  was  no 
longer  a  dog,  or  jMirrot:  it  was  an  immortal 
spirit,  eagerly  seizing  upon  a  new  link  of  union 
with  other  spirits  !  I  could  almost  fix  upon  the 
moment  when  this  truth  dawned  upon  her  mind, 
and  spread  its  light  to  her  countenance ;  I  saw 
that  the  great  obstacle  was  overcome ;  and  that 
henceforward  nothing  but  patient  and  persever- 
ing, but  plain  and  straightforward  efforts  were 
to  be  used. 

"  The  result  thus  far,  is  quickly  related^  and 
easily  conceived ;  but  not  so  was  the  process ; 
for  many  weeks  of  apparently  unprofitable  la- 
bour were  passed  before  it  was  effected. 

"  When  it  was  said  above,  that  a  sign  was 
made,  it  was  intended  to  say,  that  the  action 
was  performed  by  her  teacher,  she  feeling  his 
his  hands,  and  then  imitating  the  motion. 

"  The  next  step  was  to  procure  a  set  of  metal 
types,  with  the  different  letters  of  the  alphabet 
cast  upon  their  ends ;  also  a  hoard,  in  which 
were  square  holes,  into  which  holes  she  could 
set  the  types  ;  so  that  the  letters  on  their  ends 
could  alone  be  felt  above  the  surface. 

"  Then,  on  any  article  being  handed  to  her, 
for  instance,  a  pencil,  or  a  watch,  she  would  se- 
lect the  component  letters,  and  arrange  them  on 


mde  bj  takiof 
knives,  forkv 
m  them  labels 
etters.  These 
>f  course,  dis- 
ipoon,  difibr- 
ta  key,  as  the 
n. 

vith  the  same 
put  into  her 
lat  they  were 
irticles.  She 
lilarity  by  lay- 
and  the  label 
18  encouraged 
•ation,  patting 

repeated  with 
ndle ;  and  she 
proper  labels 
ever,  that  the 
t  of  imitation 
hat  the  label 
I  she  repeated 
It  from  memo- 
r  approbation, 
ictual  percep- 
lings. 

3,  the  individ- 
detached  bits 

by  side  so  as 
;y  were  mixed 

for  her  to  ar 
ess  the  words 

n  mechanical, 
as  teaching  a 
lis.  The  poor 
and  patiently 
did;  but  now 
:  her  intellect 
at  liere  was  a 
lake  up  a  sigii 
ind,  and  show 
r  countenance 
on :  it  was  no 
an  immortal 
link  of  union 
It  fix  upon  the 
pon  her  mind, 
nance ;  I  saw 
ime ;  and  that 
and  persever- 
'  efforts  were 

y  related)  and 
the  process ; 
iprofitable  la- 
fected. 

it  a  sign  was 
lat  the  action 
he  feeling  his 
motion, 
a  set  of  metal 
rthe  alphabet 
lard,  in  which 
lies  she  could 
on  their  ends 

;P0. 

anded  to  her, 
she  would  so- 
range  them  on 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


IT 


lier  board,  and  read  them  with  apparent  pleatf"- 
vre. 

**  She  was  exercised  fur  several  weeks  in  this 
Way,  until  her  vocabulary  became  extensive ; 
and  then  the  important  step  was  taken  of  teach- 
'ing  her  how  to  represent  the  different  letters  by 
tliu  {josiiiun  of  her  fingers,  instead  of  the  curn 
bruns  apparatus  of  tlie  board  and  types.  She 
aceumplialied  this  speedily  and  easily,  lor  her 
tntelleut  had  begun  tu  work  in  aid  of  her  teacher, 
and  her  progress  wai  rapid. 
'  "  This  was  the  period,  about  three  mnntlis  af- 
ter she  had  comiueneed,  that  the  first  report  of 
her  case  was  made,  in  which  it  is  stated  that 
*  she  has  just  learned  the  manual  alphabet,  as 
used  by  the  deaf  mutes,  and  it  is  a  subject  of 
delight  and  wonder  to  see  how  rapidly,  correctly, 
and  eagerly,  she  goes  on  with  her  labours.  Her 
'teacher  gives  her  a  new  object,  fur  instance,  a 
pencil,  first  lets  her  examine  it,  and  get  an  idea 
of  its  use,  then  teaches  her  liovv  to  spell  it  by 
making  the  signs  for  tlie  letters  with  her  own 
lingers :  the  child  grasps  her  hand,  and  feels  her 
fingers,  as  the  different  letters  are  formed ;  she 
turns  her  head  a  little  on  one  side,  like  a  person 
listening  closely ;  her  lips  are  apart ;  she  seems 
scarcely  to  breathe ;  and  her  countenance,  at 
£rst  anxious,  gradually  changes  to  a  smile,  as 
she  comprehends  a  lesson.  She  then  holds  up 
her  tiny  tingers,  and  spells  the  word  in  the  man- 
ual alphabet ;  next,  she  takes  her  types  and  ar- 
ranges her  letters ;  and  last,  to  make  sure  that 
she  is  right,  she  takes  the  whole  of  the  types 
composing  the  word,  and  places  them  upon  or 
in  contact  with  the  pencil,  or  whatever  the  ob- 
ject may  be.' 

"  The  whole  of  the  succeeding  year  was  pass- 
ed in  gratifying  her  eager  inquiries  for  the  names 
«f  every  object  which  she  could  possibly  handle ; 
in  exercising  her  in  the  use  of  the  manual  al^ia- 
bet;  in  extending  in  every  possible  way  her 
Itnowledge  of  the  physical  relations  of  things ; 
and  m  proper  care  of  her  health. 

"At  the  end  of  the  year  a  report  of  her  case 
Was  made,  from  which  the  following  is  an  ex- 
tract. 

" '  It  has  been  ascertained  beyond  the  possi- 
iMity  of  doubt,  that  she  cannot  see  a  ray  of  light, 
4)annot  hear  the  least  sound,  and  never  exercises 
iMr  sense  of  smell,  if  rtie  have  any.  Thus  her 
iilind  dwells  in  darkness  and  stillness,  as  pro- 
found as  that  of  a  closed  tomb  at  midnight.  Of 
tibaatifat  sights,  and  sweet  sounds,  and  pleasant 
odours,  she  has  no  conception :  nevertheless, 
■he  seems  as  happy  and  playful  as  a  bird  or  a 
Iamb ;  and  the  employment  of  her  intellectual 
faculties,  or  the  acquirement  of  a  new  idea,  gives 
Iter  a  vivid  pleasure,  which  is  pfainly  marked  in 
her  expressive  features.  She  never  seems  to 
repine,  but  has  all  the  buoyancy  and  gayety  of 
childhood.  She  is  fond  of  fun  and  frolic,  and 
when  playing  with  the  rest  of  the  children,  her 
chrill  laugh  sounds  loudest  of  the  group. 

"  '  When  left  alone,  she  seems  very  happy  if 
ahe  have  her  knitting  or  sewing,  and  will  busy 
herself  fur  hours :  if  she  have  no  occupation,  she 
evidently  amuses herselfby  imaginary  dialogues, 
or  by  recalling  past  impressions;  she  counts 
with  her  fingers,  or  spells  out  names  of  things 
whifh  she  has  recently  learned,  in  the  manual 
alphabet  of  the  deaf  mules.  In  this  lonely  self- 
communion  she  seems  to  reason,  reflect,  and  ar- 
C 


gue :  if  she  spell  a  word  wrong  with  the  flngera 
of  her  riglit  hand,  she  instantly  strikes  it  with  her 
left,  as  lier  teacher  dues,  in  sign  of  disapprulM^ 
tion ;  if  right,  then  she  pals  Iterself  upou  the 
head,  and  looks  pleased.  She  suuietiuies  pur- 
pttsely  spells  a  word  wrung  with  the  leli  hand, 
looks  roguish  and  laughs,  and  then  with  the  right 
hand  strdces  the  left,  as  if  to  correct  it. 

"  *  Dunng  the  year  she  has  attained  great  dex- 
terity in  the  use  of  the  manual  alphaiiet  of  thu 
deaf*^ mutes;  and  she  spells  out  the  words  aud 
sentences  which  she  knows,  so  fast  and  so  deft* 
ly,  that  only  those  accustomed  to  this  language 
can  follow  with  the  eye  the  rapid  motions  of  her 
tingers. 

"  '  But  wonderful  as  is  the  rapidity  with  which 
she  writes  her  thoughts  upon  the  air,  still  mure 
so  is  the  ease  and  accuracy  with  which  she  reads 
the  words  thus  written  by  another;  grasping 
their  hands  in  hers,  aud  following  every  iuov»- 
inent  of  their  fingers,  as  letter  after  letter  coo- 
veys  their  meaning  to  her  mind.  It  is  in  this 
way  that  she  converses  with  her  blind  play- 
mates, and  nothing  can  more  forcibly  show  the 
power  of  mind  in  Ibrcing  matter  to  its  purptwe, 
than  a  meeting  between  them.  For  if  great  tal- 
ent and  skill  are  necessary  fur  two  pantomimes 
tu  paint  their  thoughts  and  feelings  by  tlie  utuve- 
ments  of  the  body,  and  the  expression  of  the 
ciiuntenanco,  how  much  greater  the  difficulty 
when  darkness  shrouds  them  both,  and  the  one 
can  hear  no  sound  ! 

"  'When  Laura  is  walking  through  a  passage- 
way, with  her  hands  spread  before  her,  she 
knows  instantly  every  one  she  meets,  and  pass- 
es them  with  a  sign  of  rectignition :  but  if  it  be 
a  girl  of  her  own  age,  and  especially  if  it  be  one 
of  her  favourites,  there  is  instantly  a  bright  smile 
of  recognition,  and  a  twining  of  arms,  a  grasping 
of  hands,  and  a  swift  telegraphing  upon  the  liny 
fingers;  whose  rapid  evolution  convey  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  from  the  outposts  of  one 
mind  to  those  of  the  other.  There  are  <|ues- 
lions  and  answers,  exchanges  of  joy  or  sorrow^ 
there  are  kissings  and  partings,  juat  as  betweea 
little  children  with  all  their  senses.' 

"  During  this  year,  and  six  months  after  she 
had  left  home,  her  mother  came  to  visit  her.  aad 
the  scene  of  their  meeting  was  an  interesting  on*. 

"  The  mother  stood  some  time,  gazing  with 
overflowing  eyes  upon  her  unfortunate  childi 
who,  all  uaconseious  of  her  presence,  was  play- 
ing about  the  room.  Presently  Laura  ran  against 
her,  and  at  once  began  feeling  her  hands,  ex* 
amining  her  dress,  aiul  trying  to  find  out  if  she 
knew  her ;  but  not  succeeding  in  this,  she  turn- 
ed away  as  from  a  stranger,  and  the  p«M»r  wihii- 
an  could  not  conceal  the  pang  she  felt  at  finding 
that  her  beloved  child  did  not  know  her. 

"  She  then  gave  Laura  a  string  of  beads  which 
she  used  to  wear  at  home,  whioli  were  rec«igni- 
sed  by  the  child  at  once,  who,  with  much  joy, 
put  them  around  her  neck,  and  sought  me  eager- 
ly to  say  she  understood  the  string  was  fruia 
her  home. 

"The  mother  now  tried  to  caress  her,  hnt 
poor  Laura  repelled  her,  preferring  to  lie  with 
h6r  acquaintances. 

"  .\nother  article  fr?"!  home  was  now  given 
her,  and  she  began  to  lo<»k  much  interested ; 
she  examined  the  stranger  much  closer,  and 
gave  me  to  understand  that  she  knew  she  came 


IS 


NOTES  ON   AMERICA. 


W 


r     i 


fWrni  Hanover :  she  even  endured  her  carensns, 
but  would  leave  her  with  indiHVren<;e  at  the 
•lightest  signal.  The  diatress  of  the  mother 
wai,  now  pninful  to  behold ;  for,  although  she 
had  feared  that  she  shoold  n«>t  be  recognised, 
the  painful  reality  of  being  treated  with  cold  in- 
diffirence  by  a  darling  child,  was  too  much  fur 
woman's  nature  to  bear. 

'*  Aller  a  while,  on  the  mother  taking  hold  of 
her  again,  a  vague  idea  seemed  to  flit  across 
Laura's  mind,  that  this  could  not  be  a  stranger; 
she  therefore  felt  her  hands  very  eagerly,  while 
her  OHintenance  assumed  an  expression  of  in 
tense  interest ;  she  became  very  pale,  and  then 
suddenly  red  ;  hope  seemed  struggling  with 
doubt  and  anxiety,  and  never  were  contending 
•motions  more  strongly  painted  upon  the  human 
fkce ;  at  this  mtiment  of  painful  uncertainty,  the 
mother  drew  her  close  to  her  side,  and  kissed 
her  fimdiy,  when  at  once  the  truth  flashed  upon 
the  child,  and  all  mistrust  and  anxiety  disappear- 
ed from  her  face,  as  with  an  expression  of  ex- 
eeeding  joy  she  eagerly  nestled  to  the  bosom  of 
her  parent,  and  yielded  herself  to  her  fond  em- 
braces. 

'*  Atler  this,  the  beads  were  all  unheeded ;  the 
playthings  wliich  were  offered  to  her  were  ut 
terly  disregarded :  her  playmates,  for  whom  hut 
a  moment  before  she  gladly  left  the  stranger, 
now  vainly  strove  to  pull  her  from  her  mother ; 
and  though  she  yielded  her  usual  instantaneous 
obedience  to  my  signal  to  follow  me,  it  was  evi- 
dently with  painful  reluctance.  She  clung  close 
to  me.  as  if  bewildered  and  fearful ;  and  when, 
after  a  moment,  I  took  her  to  her  mother,  she 
sprang  to  her  arms,  and  clung  to  her  with  eager 
joy 

"  The  subsequent  parting  between  them, 
showed  alike  the  affection,  the  intelligence,  and 
the  resolution  of  the  child. 

"  Laura  accompanied  her  mother  to  the  door, 
elingiuj|r  chtse  to  her  all  the  way,  until  they  ar- 
rived at  the  threshold,  where  she  paused,  and 
felt  around,  to  ascertain  who  was  near  hrr 
Perceiving  the  matron,  of  whom  she  is  very 
fond,  she  grasped  her  with  one  hand,  holding  on 
convulsively  to  her  mother  with  the  other;  and 
thus  she  sUmkI  for  a  moment :  then  she  dropped 
her  mother's  hand  ;  put  her  handkerchief  to  her 
eyes ;  and  turning  round,  clung  sobbing  to  the 
matron ;  while  her  mother  departed,  with  emo- 
tions as  deep  as  those  of  her  child. 

•        *•••# 

"  It  has  been  remarked  in  former  reports,  that 
she  ran  distinguish  diflTerent  degrees  of  intellect 
in  others,  and  that  she  soon  regarded  almost 
with  contempt,  a  newcomer,  when,  afler  a  few 
days,  she  discovered  her  weakness  of  mind. 
This  uiiamiable  part  of  her  character  has  been 
more  strongly  developed  during  the  past  year. 

"  She  chtMNies  for  her  friends  and  companions 
those  children  who  are  intelligent,  and  can  talk 
best  with  her ;  and  she  evidently  dislikes  to  be 
with  those  who  are  deficient  in  intellect,  unless, 
indeed,  she  can  make  them  serve  her  purposes. 
Whinli  she  is  evidently  inclined  to  do.  She 
takes  advantage  of  them,  and  makes  them  wail 
upon  her,  in  a  mHunerihat  she  knows  she  could 
nut  exart  of  others ;  and  in  various  ways  she 
ehowi  her  Saxon  blood. 

*'  She  is  fond  itf  having  other  children  noticed 
and  caressed  by  the  teachers,  and  those  whom 


she  respects ;  but  this  mast  not  be  carried  to* 
fir,  or  she  heitoines  jeahius.  She  wants  to  have 
her  share,  which,  if  not  the  litm's,  is  the  greater 
P'«rt ;  anl  if  she  does  not  get  it,  she  says,  *  itfy 
Mother  will  Itnc  me.' 

"  Her  tendency  to  imitation  is  so  strong,  that 
it  leads  her  to  actions  which  must  be  entirely 
incomprehensible  to  her,  and  which  can  give 
her  nil  other  pleasure  than  the  gratification  of 
an  internal  faculty.  She  has  been  known  to  sit 
or  half  an  hour,  holding  a  book  before  her  sight- 
less eyes,  and  moving  her  lips,  as  she  has  ob- 
served seeing  people  do  when  reading. 

She  one  day  pretended  that  her  doll  was  sick, 
and  went  through  all  the  motions  of  tending  it 
and  giving  it  m^ieine ;  she  then  put  it  carefully 
10  btd,  and  placed  a  bottle  of  hot  water  to  its 
fi>et,  laughing  all  the  time  most  heartily.  When 
T  ':ame  home  she  insieted  upon  my  going  to  sea. 
it  and  feel  its  pulse ;  and  when  I  told  her  to  put 
a  blister  on  its  back,  she  seemed  to  enjoy  it 
amazingly,  and  almost  screamed  with  delight. 

'*Her  social  feelings  and  her  affections  are 
very  stnmg ;  and  when  she  is  sitting  at  work, 
or  at  her  studies,  by  the  side  of  one  of  her  little 
friends,  she  will  break  oflT  from  her  task  every 
few  moments  tti  hug  and  kiss  them  with  an 
earnestness  and  warmth  that  is  touching  to  be- 
hold. 

"  When  lell  al<»ne,  she  occupies  and  apparent- 
ly amuses  herself,  and  seems  quite  contented ; 
and  so  strong  seems  to  be  the  natural  tendency 
iif  thought  to  put  on  the  garh  of  language,  that 
she  often  soliloquizes  in  \.\xe  finger  language,  slow 
and  tedious  as  it  is.  But  it  is  only  when  alone 
that  she  is  quiet :  for  if  she  become  sensible  of 
the  presence  of  any  one  near  her,  she  is  restless 
until  she  can  sit  close  beside  them,  hold  their 
hand,  and  converse  with  them  by  signs. 

'*  In  her  intellectual  character  it  is  pleasing  to 
observe  an  insatiable  thirst  for  knowledge,  and 
a  quick  percepticm  of  the  relations  of  thiugs.  la 
her  moral  character  it  is  beautiful  In  behold  her 
continual  gladness,  her  keen  enj«iyment  of  ex- 
istence, her  expansive  love,  her  unhesitatini^ 
confidence,  her  sympathy  with  suff -ring,  her  con- 
scientiousness, truthfulness,  and  hopefulness." 

Such  are  a  few  fragments  from  the  simple  but 
most  interesting  and  instructive  history  of  l<aura 
Uridgman.  The  name  of  her  great  benefactor 
and  friend,  who  writes  it,  is  Dr.  Howe.  There 
arn  not  many  persons,  I  hope  and  believe,  who, 
afler  reading  these  passages,  can  ever  hear  that 
name  with  indifference. 

A  farther  account  has  been  published  by  Dr. 
Howe,  since  the  report  from  which  I  have  jitst 
quoted.  It  describes  her  rapid  mental  growth 
and  improvement  during  twelve  months  more, 
and  brings  her  little  hisuiry  down  to  the  end  of 
last  year.  It  is  very  remarkable,  that,  as  we 
dream  in  words,  and  carry  on  imaginary  con- 
versatiims,  in  which  we  speak  both  forourselve» 
and  for  the  shadows  who  appear  to  us  in  those 
visions  of  the  nigh*,  so  she,  having  no  words, 
uses  her  finger  alphabet  in  her  sleep.  And  it 
has  been  ascertained  that  when  her  slumber  is 
broken,  and  is  much  disturbed  by  dreams,  she 
expresses  her  thoughts  in  an  irregular  and  con- 
fused manner  on  her  fingers,  jnst  as  we  should 
murmur  and  mutter  them  indistinctly  in  the  like 
cinnim-^tances. 

I  turned  over  the  leaves  of  her  diary,  and  found 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


It 


be  carried  to* 
;  wants  to  have 
I,  is  tlie  greiitPr 
she  says, '  itfy  , 

so  strong,  that 
ust  be  entirely 
'hich  cnn  give 
gratification  of 
in  known  to  sit 
efore  her  sight- 
as  she  has  ub- 
ading. 

r  doil  was  sick, 
w  of  tending  it 
put  it  carefully 
ot  water  to  ita 
eartily.  When 
ny  going  to  sea 
told  her  to  pat 
led  to  enjoy  it 
with  deligltt. 
affections  are 
litting  at  work, 
une  of  her  little 
her  task  every 
them  with  an 
touching  to  be- 

s  and  apparent- 
jite  contented ; 
RturdI  tendency 
r  language,  that 
'  language,  slow 
inly  when  alone 
line  sensible  of 
',  she  is  restless 
lem,  hold  their 
I  signs. 

it  is  pleasing  to 
knowledge,  and 
IS  of  things.  la 
111  to  behold  her 
ij«iyment  of  ex- 
er  unhesitating, 
ff'-ring,  hercoa- 

hopel'ulness." 
1  the  simple  but 
[listory  or  Ijaura 
reat  benefactor 

Howe.  There 
id  believe,  who, 
I  ever  hear  that 

ablished  by  Dr. 
lich  I  have  just 
mental  growth 
months  more, 
n  to  the  end  of 
lie,  that,  as  we 
imaginary  con- 
ith  for  ourselve» 
r  to  us  in  those 
ving  no  words, 
sleep.  And  it 
her  slumber  is 
by  d  reams,  she 
egular  and  con- 
it  as  we  should 
nctly  in  the  like 

liary,  and  found 


It  wrHteo  in  a  fair  legible  square  hand,  and  ex- 
pressed in  terms  which  were  quite  intelligil>le 
withtiut  any  explanation.  On  my  saying  that  I 
should  tike  to  see  her  write  again,  the  leaclier, 
who  sal  beside  her.  bade  her,  in  their  language, 
sign  her  name  upon  a  slip  ul'r  ■■'.f  twice  or  itiriue. 
In  doing  so,  I  observed  lhatt>).r:  i.ept  the  tell  hand 
always  touching  and  I'ollowtng  up  the  right,  in 
wliich,  of  course,  she  held  the  ^n.  No  line  was 
indicated  by  any  contrivance;  but  stie  wrote 
straight  and  freely. 

•She  had,  until  now,  been  quite  unconscious  of 
the  presence  of  visiters ;  but,  hsving  her  hand 
placed  in  that  of  the  gentleman  who  accompanied 
me,  she  immediately  expressed  his  name  upon 
her  teacher's  palm.  Indeed  her  sense  of  touch 
is  now  so  exquisite,  that,  having  been  acquaint- 
ed with  a  person  once,  she  can  recognise  htm  or 
her  after  almost  any  interval.  I'his  gentleman 
had  been  in  her  company,  I  believe,  but  very 
seldom,  and  certainly  had  not  seen  her  fur  many 
months.  My  hand  she  rejected  at  uiicu,  as  she 
does  that  of  any  man  wlio  is  a  stranger  to  her ; 
bul  she  retained  my  wife's  with  evident  pleasure, 
kissed  her,  and  examiiiei!  her  dress  with  a  girl's 
curiosity  and  interest. 

She  was  merry  and  cheerful,  and  showed  much 
innocent  playfulness  in  her  iiiteru«iuise  with  her 
teacher.  Her  delight  on  recognising  a  (avimrite 
playfellow  and  cuinpanioii — liersell  a  blind  girl 
—who  silently,  and  with  an  equal  enjoyuieni  of 
the  coming  surprise,  twtk  a  seal  beside  Iter,  was 
beautiful  to  witness,  ll  elicited  Irom  her  at  lirst, 
as  other  slight  circumstances  did  twice  or  Uirice 
during  my  visit,  an  uncouth  imise,  which  was 
raiher  painful  Ui  hear ;  but,  on  he rleacher  touch 
ing  her  lips,  she  imuiediaiely  desisted,  and  eui- 
Lratted  tier  luugliingly  and  alfeciioiiaieiy. 

I  had  previously  been  into  anoiher  chamber, 
where  a  nunilier  ot  blind  iHtys  were  swiii|;ing 
and  cliiohing,  and  engaged  in  various  sports 
Tliey  all  ctamouied.  as  we  entered,  to  the  as- 
sistani  iiiHitter,  ulio  accompanied  us,  "Look  al 
me,  Mr.  Hart !  Please,  Mr.  Hart,  look  al  iite ! " 
evincing,  I  ilioiighi,  even  in  this,  an  anxiety  pe- 
culiar to  llieir  ctdidilioii,  thai  their  liiile  leais  of 
agility  should  be  uten.  Among  them  was  a  small 
laughing  leHow,  who  sioihI  aloof,  eiiterlainiiig 
liimsell  Willi  a  gymnastic  exercise  for  bringing 
tlie  arms  and  uliesi  into  play,  winch  he  enjoyed 
uiightily,  especially  wlien,  in  thrusting  oui  tiis 
right  arm,  he  brought  it  into  contact  with  atnith- 
er  boy.  Like  I.auia  Uridgiuan,  this  young  child 
was  deaf,  and  dumlv  nnd  blind. 

Dr  Howe's  accouiii  of  itiis  pupil's  first  in- 
struction IS  bo  very  striking,  and.  so  iniiiiialely 
e«iiinecied  with  Ijaura  lieisell,  that  I  cannot  re- 
frain from  a  short  exiraci  1  in-iy  premise  that 
the  piHir  tMiy's  name  is  Ulivi  r  Ciswell ;  that  he 
is  Uiiriten  >eais  oi  agt; ;  and  that  he  was  in  lull 
posisession  ot  all  his  faculties  unlit  three  years 
and  four  inonitts  old.  He  was  tlien  atldcked  h> 
scailei  lever — in  lour  weeks  became  deaf;  in  u 
tew  weeks  iiiun,  blind;  in  six  iiionihs,  dumb. 
He  sliowi  d  Ins  anxious  sense  oi  this  last  depn- 
vaiiiin  l)y  olien  teeing  llie  tips  of  other  |iersont> 
wlii'ii  iliey  were  talking,  and  then  pulling  lii^ 
t'iiitd  ii|Hiii  his  own.  as  if  to  assure  himself  thai 
he  liHit  tlii'iii  in  itie  right  position. 

•■  lli!4  ihiiBl  iiir  kniiwled^e,"  says  Dr  Howe, 
"pioi-laimmi  iitietf  as  stKin  as  he  entered  the 
i«<i>.se.  Ity  tils  eager  examination  of  everyitiing 


he  ennid  feel  or  smell  in  his  new  location.  Pur 
instance,  treading  upim  the  register  of  a  furnace, 
lie  instantly  stooped  down  and  began  to  leel  it, 
and  soon  discovered  the  way  in  wliiuli  the  up|ier 
plate  moved  upon  the  lower  one ;  but  this  was 
not  enough  tor  him :  so,  lying  down  upon  his 
face,  he  applied  his  tongue  first  to  one,  tnen  to 
the  other,  and  seemed  to  discover  that  they  were 
of  different  kinds  of  metal. 

"  His  signs  were  expressive;  and  the  strictly 
natural  language,  laughing,  crying,  sighing,  kiss- 
ing, embracing,  die,  was  perfect. 

"  Some  of  the  analogical  signs  which  (guided 
by  his  faculty  of  imitation)  he  had  contr~*4 
were  comprehensible— such  as  the  waving  iiio> 
lion  of  bis  hand  for  the  motion  of  a  boat,  tha 
circular  one  fm  a  wheel,  dec. 

'■  The  first  object  was  to  break  up  the  use  of 
these  signs,  and  to  substitute  fur  them  the  use 
of  purely  arbitrary  ones. 

"  Profiting  by  the  experience  I  had  gained  in 
the  other  cases,  I  omitted  several  steps  of  the 
process  before  employed,  and  commenced  at  once 
with  the  finger  language.  Taking,  therefore, 
several  articles  having  short  names,  snob  as  key, 
cup,  mug,  &c.,  and  with  Lauia  for  an  auxiliary, 
I  sat  down,  and,  taking  his  hand,  placed  it  upon 
one  of  them,  and  then,  with  his  own,  made  tlie 
letters  key.  He  felt  my  hands  eagerly  wiiti 
both  of  tiis;  and,  on  my  repealing  the  process, 
he  evidently  tried  to  imitate  the  motions  of  my 
tingera.  In  a  few  minutes  he  contriveo  lo  feel 
the  motions  of  my  fingers  with  one  hand  ■  and, 
holding  out  the  other,  tie  tried  to  imitate  the<n, 
laughing  most  heartily  when  he  succcr  ted. 
Laura  was  by,  interested  even  toagitaiinn ;  and 
the  two  presented  a  singular  sight ;  her  face  was 
dustied  and  anxious,  and  her  fingers  tw  ined  in 
among  ours  so  closely  as  to  follow  every  motion, 
but  so  lightly  as  not  to  embarrass  them  ;  while 
Oliver  sttHMl  attentive,  his  head  a  little  aside, 
his  face  turned  up,  his  letl  hand  grasping  mine, 
and  his  right  held  out.  At  every  motion  of  my. 
lingers  his  countenance  betokened  keen  atten- 
tion ;  there  was  an  expression  of  anxiety  as  he 
tried  to  imitate  the  motions ;  then  a  smile  came 
stealing  out  as  he  thought  he  could  do  so,  and 
i^pread  into  a  joyous  laugh  the  moment  he  suc- 
ceeded, and  tell  me  pat  his  head  and  Laura  clap 
him  heartily  upon  the  back,  and  jump  up  and 
down  in  her  joy. 

"  He  learned  more  than  half  a  dozen  letters 
in  half  an  hour,  and  seemed  delighted  with  tiis 
success,  at  least  in  gaining  approbation.  His 
attention  then  began  lo  Hag,  and  I  commenced 
pla>ing  with  him.  It  was  evident  that  in  all  this 
lie  had  merely  been  imitating  the  motions  of  my 
fingers,  and  placing  his  hand  upon  the  key,  cup, 
iiu.,  as  part  of  the  process,  wiihout  any  percep- 
tion of  the  relation  between  the  sign  and  the 

Illlj^Ct. 

**  When  he  was  tired  with  play  I  took  him 
back  t<»  the  table,  and  he  was  quite  ready  to  tie- 
giii  again  his  process  of  imitation.  He  soon 
learned  to  make  the  letters  lor  key,  pen,  pin; 
and,  by  having  the  object  repeatedly  placed  in 
liis  hand,  he  at  last  perceived  the  relation  I 
wished  to  establish  between  them.  This  was 
evident,  because,  when  i  would  make  the  letters 
p I  n,  f  pen,  w  eup,  tie  would  select  the  ar- 
ticle. 

'*  'Jlie  perception  uf  this  relation  was  not  ae- 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


t. 


cpanied  hjr  that  radiant  flaah  of  intclligi^nce. 
that  flow  or  joy,  which  marked  the  delighl- 
liil  iiiuinent  when  I^aura  tirut  perceived  it  I 
then  placed  all  the  articles  on  the  table,  and, 
filing  au'»y  a  little  riiittance  with  the  children, 
plMce«l  Oliver's  lingers  in  the  position  to  spell 
Ary,  on  which  I^ura  went  and  brought  the  ar 
li«iu.  The  little  fellow  seemed  to  be  much 
amused  tiy  this,  and  looked  very  attentive  and 
smiting.  I  tlien  caused  him  to  make  the  letters 
Ihremd.  and  in  an  instant  Laura  went  and  brought 
him  a  piece.  He  smelled  it,  put  it  to  hia  lips, 
eocked  up  his  head  with  a  moat  knowing  look, 
seemed  to  reflect  a  moment,  and  then  laughed 
outright,  as  much  as  to  say, '  Aha !  I  undei  stand 
■u^  how  something  may  be  made  out  of  this.* 

"  It  was  now  clear  that  he  had  the  caiwcity 
and  inclination  to  learn,  that  he  was  a  proper 
subject  for  inatruction,and  needed  only  persever- 
ing attention.  1  therefore  put  him  in  the  haada 
•fan  intelligent  teacher,  nothing  doubting  of  his 
rapid  |irogret>s  " 

Well  may  this  g:entleman  call  that  a  drlight- 
fiil  moment  in  which  some  distant  promise  of 
her  preaent  stale  tirat  gleamed  upon  the  darken- 
ed mind  of  Laura  Bridgman.  Throughout  hia 
life  the  recollection  of  that  moment  will  he  to 
him  a  s  mrce  of  pure,  unfading  happiness ;  nor 
will  it  shine  least  brightly  on  the  evening  of  his 
days  of  Noble  llsefulneas. 

The  affection  that  exists  between  these  two 
.  — the  master  and  the  pupil — is  as  far  reniovcd 
friHm  all  ordinary  care  and  regard,  as  the  cir 
euntstances  in  which  it  has  its  growth,  are 
aimit  from  the  common  occurrences  of  life 
He  is  <»ccupied  now,  in  devising  means  of  im 
parting  to  her,  higher  knowledge ;  and  of  con- 
veying to  her  some  adequate  idea  of  the  Great 
Creator  of  that  universe  in  whi(*h.  dark  and  si- 
tent  and  scentless  though  it  be  to  her,  she  has 
Mich  d(«p  deiigtit  and  glad  enjoyment. 

Ye  who  have  eyes  and  see  not,  and  have  ears 
and  bear  not ;  ye  who  are  as  the  hypocrites  of 
sad  countenances,  and  disfigure  your  faces  that 
ye  may  seem  unto  men  to  fast ;  learn  healthy 
cheerfulness,  and  mild  contentment,  from  the 
deaf,  and  dumb,  and  blind !  Self-elected  saints 
with  gloomy  brows,  this  sightless,  earless, 
Tuiceless  child  niay  teach  you  lessons  you  will 
4o  well  to  tMk>w.  Let  that  poor  hand  of  hers  lie 
gently  on  your  hearts ;  for  there  may  be  some- 
tiiing  in  its  healing  touch  akin  to  that  of  the  Great 
Master  whose  precepts  you  misconstrue,  whose 
teosons  you  (lervert,  of  whose  charity  and  syin- 
pathy  With  all  the  world,  not  one  am«mg  you  in 
bM  daily  practice  knows  as  much  aa  many  of 
the  worst  among  those  fallen  sinners,  to  whom 
vou  are  liberal  in  nothing  but  the  preachment 
of  perditiim ! 

As  I  ruse  to  quit  the  room,  a  pretty  little 
ciidd  of  one  \>l'  the  attendants  came  running  in 
to  greet  its  father.  For  the  moment,  a  oliil  I 
with  eyes,  among  the  sightless  crowd,  iinpnas- 
«M)  me  almitst  as  painfully  as  the  blind  boy  in 
Uie  p«»r(!h  had  d«»iie.  two  hours  ago.  Ah !  how 
tnnuh  hrigliier  and  more  deeply  blue,  glowing 
and  rich  though  it  had  Iteen  before,  was  the 
scene  witlioui,  contrasting  with  the  darkness  of 
8u  many  youthful  livea  within ! 


At  South  Boston,  as  it  is  called,  in  a  situa- 
teitu  excellently  adapted  fur  the  purpose,  several 


charitable  institutions  are  dustared  together. 
One  of  these,  is  the  State  Hospital  for  the  in. 
same ;  admirably  conducted  on  thus*  enlighten- 
ed  principles  of  conciliation  and  kindness, 
which  twenty  years  ago  would  have  been 
worse  than  heretical,  and  which  have  been 
acted  upon  with  so  much  success  in  our  own 
pauper  asylum  at  Hanwell.  "  Evince  a  desire 
to  show  some  confidence,  and  repose  soma 
trust,  even  in  mad  people,"  said  the  resident 
physician,  as  we  walked  along  the  galleries,  hia 
patients  flocking  round  ua  unrestrained  Of 
those  who  deny  or  doubt  the  wisdom  of  tliia 
maxim  after  witnessing  its  effects,  if  there  b« 
such  people  still  alive,  I  can  only  say  that  I  hop« 
[  may  never  be  summoned  as  a  juryman  on  • 
Commission  of  Lunacy  whereof  they  are  the 
subjects ;  for  I  should  certainly  find  them  out 
of  their  senses,  on  such  evidence  alone. 

Each  ward  in  (his  institution  is  shaped  like  a 
I'ing  gallery  or  hall,  with  the  dormitories  of  the 
patients  opening  from  it  on  either  hand.  Hera 
they  work,  read,  play  at  skittles,  and  other 
^i:m<^s ;  and  when  the  weather  does  not  admit 
of  their  taking  exercise  out  of  dm>rs,  pass  tha 
d.-iy  together.  In  one  of  these  rooms,  seated, 
calinly,  and  quite  as  a  matter  of  course,  among 
a  throng  of  madwomen,  black  and  white,  were 
the  phyaician'a  wife  and  another  lady,  with  a 
couple  of  children.  These  ladies  were  graceful 
and  handsome ;  and  it  was  not  difficult  to  per- 
ceive at  a  glance  that  even  their  presence  there, 
had  a  highly  beneficial  iiiflut-nce  on  the  patienta 
who  were  grouped  about  them. 

Leaning  her  head  against  the  chimney-piece, 
with  a  great  assumption  of  dignity  and  refine- 
ment of  manner,  sat  an  elderly  female,  in  aa 
many  scraps  of  finery  as  Madge  Wildfire  her- 
self Her  head  in  particular  was  so  strewn 
with  scraps  of  gauze,  and  cotton,  and  bits  of  pa- 
per, and  had  so  many  queer  odds  and  ends 
stuck  all  about  it,  that  it  looked  like  a  bird's- 
nest.  She  was  radiant  with  imaginary  jewels ; 
wore  a  rich  pair  of  undoubted  gold  spectacles ; 
and  gracefully  dritpped  up<m  her  lap,  as  we  ap* 
P'oached.  a  very,  old  greasy  newspaper,  in 
which  I  dare  say  she  had  been  reading  an  ac- 
count of  her  own  presentation  at  some  foreifo 
court. 

I  have  been  thus  particular  in  describing  her, 
because  she  will  serve  to  exemplify  the  physii 
cian's  manner  of  acquiring  and  retaining  the 
confidence  of  his  patients. 

"This,"  he  said  aloud,  taking  me  by  the 
hand,  and  advancing  to  the  fantastic  figure  with 
great  politeness— not  raiding  her  suspi(;iuns  by 
the  slightest  look  or  whisper,  or  any  kind  of 
aside,  to  me  :  "  This  is  the  lady  hostess  of  this 
mansion,  sir.  It  belongs  to  her.  NolMtdy  else  has 
anything  whatever  to  do  with  it.  It  is  a  large 
eatabli-hnient,  as  you  see,  an<l  requires  a  great 
number  of  attendants.  She  lives,  you  observe, 
ill  the  very  first  style.  She  is  kin  I  enou;^!!  to 
receive  my  visits,  and  to  penult  my  wife  and 
faimly  to  reside  here;  fr  wliicti,  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  say,  we  are  much  iudtbted  to  her. 
•She  is  exceedin^tly  couiteous,  you  iM^icoive." 
on  this  hint  she  hownl,  coiidesi-eiidingly,  "  and 
will  permit  me  to  liave  the  phasi-rof  intio- 
diicing  you  :  agenileiiiau  fioni  England,  ma  am : 
newly  arrived  li'oin  England,  alter  a  very  teio- 
peatuoiis  passage:  Mr.  Dickens — the  lady  of 
the  house !" 


We  ex 

tMth  nn>i 
9n.    th( 
ierstanil 
case,  hut 
and  to  bi 
their  cev 
to  me  in 
them  in  li 
ough  coi 
between 
nature  at 
is  easy  t( 
IbMed  fc 
•tartle  tfa 
fore  then 
lous  lighl 
Every 
dinner  e^ 
the  mida 
manner  c 
described 
alone  res 
iW)m  rutt 
feet  of  til 
certainty 
atraint,  t< 
a  hundre( 
atrait-wa 
ignoranct 
tured  sin( 
In  the 
freely  tru 
he  were  t 
farm,  the, 
For  amu 
read,  and 
provided 
themselv 
for  the  p( 
olutions, 
knives  as 
do  elsewl 
with  the 
which  wi 
own  fles 
in' these 
and  healt 
Once  i 
doctor  ai 
attendant 
inarches 
livening 
aome  gei 
been  pre 
pany  wit 
at  a  ten 
wherein, 
the  dang 
together 
^  o'clock  I 
\  they  sepi 
Inimei 
I  observed 
from  the 
field  am< 
blies,  the 
ofconvei 
and  the 
these  oc< 
found  "  • 
t  mure  ti 


itered  together, 
pital  for  the  in* 
tbuM  enlighten* 

and  kindnesa, 
uld  have  been 
lich  have  been 
«aa  in  our  own 
Evince  a  desiro 
d  repoae  aonie 
lid  the  resident 
the  galieries,  hi* 
ireatrained  Of 
wiadum  of  thia 
ecta,  if  there  be 
IT  aay  that  I  h(>p« 
»  juryman  on  a 
nf  they  are  the 
y  find  them  out 
ue  alone. 

ia  sliaped  like  a 
irmiturics  of  the 
ler  hand.  Hera 
itlea,  and  other 

(loea  not  admit 

diMirs,  pasa  the 
i  rooms,  aeated, 
)f  course,  among 
and  white,  were 
iicr  lady,  with  a 
es  were  graceful 
I  difticult  to  per* 
r  presence  there, 
e  on  the  patients 

e  chimney-piece, 
gnity  ami  refine* 
rly  ffmale,  in  as 
ige  Wildfire  her* 
was  so  strewn 
m,  and  bits  of  pa* 
-  odds  and  ends 
ed  like  a  bird's- 
(laginary  jewels ; 
gold  spectacles ; 
er  lap,  as  we  ap* 
I  newspaper,  in 
a  reading  an  ao* 
I  at  aome  foreign 

in  describing  her, 
mplify  the  phyain 
nd  retaining  the 

king  me  by  the 
tastic  figure  with 
net  8Uspi<;ions  by 
',  or  any  kind  of 
ly  UostetiS  of  this 
NolMidy  else  has 
it.  It  18  a  large 
I  requires  a  great 
ved,  you  observe,. 
B  kin  t  entui^h  to 
luit  my  wife  and 
licli,  it  is  hardly 
I  iiidt  bled  to  her. 
J.  you  |M?ict'ive," 
si-eiidingly.  '*  and 
pUasi.T-  «'f  iiitio- 
Engiaud,uia  am: 
alter  a  very  tein- 
:na — the  lady  of 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


We  exchanged  the  most  dignified  salutations 
iMtb  nnifound  gravity  and  respect,  and  so  went 
ijtn.  'The  rest  of  the  madwomen  seemed  to  un- 
ierstand  the  joke  perfectly  (not  only  in  this 
case,  but  in  all  the  others,  except  their  own), 
and  to  be  liighly  amused  by  it.  The  nature  of 
their  teveral  kinds  of  insanity  was  made  known 
to  me  in  the  same  way,  and  we  left  each  of 
them  in  high  good  humour.  Not  only  is  a  thor- 
ough confidence  established,  by  these  means, 
between  physician  and  intient,  in  respect  of  the 
nature  and  extent  of  their  hallucinati'  '^s,  but  it 
is  easy  to  understand  that  opportunities  are  af- 
IbMed  for  seizing  any  moment  of  reason,  to 
•tartle  them  by  placing  their  own  delusion  be- 
fore them  in  its  most  incongruous  and  ridicu- 
lous light. 

Every  patient  in  this  asylum  sits  down  to 
dinner  every  day  with  a  knife  and  fork ;  and  in 
the  midst  of  them  sits  the  gentleman,  whose 
manner  of  dealing  with  his  charges,  I  have  just 
described.  At  every  meal,  moral  influence 
alone  restrains  the  more  violent  among  them 
fVom  cutting  the  throats  of  the  rest ;  but  the  ef- 
fect of  that  influence  is  reduced  to  an  absolute 
certainty,  and  is  found,  even  as  a  means  of  re- 
atraint,  to  say  nothing  of  it  as  a  means  of  core, 
a  hundred  times  more  efficacious  than  all  the 
atrait-waistcoats.  fetters,  and  handcuffs,  that 

J  ignorance,  prejudice,  and  cruelty  have  manufac- 
tured since  the  creation  of  the  world. 
I      In  the  labour  department,  every  patient  is  as 
I  freely  trusted  with  the  toids  of  his  trade  as  if 
I  he  were  a  sane  man.    In  the  garden,  and  on  the 
•  farm,  they  work  with  spades  rakes,  and  hoes. 
'   For  amusement,  they  walk,  run,  fish,  paint, 
'   read,  and  ride  out  to  take  the  air  in  carriages 
provided  for  the  purpose.    They  have  among 
themselves  a  sewing  society  to  m^ce  clothes 
'   for  the  poor,  which  holds  meetings,  passes  res- 
■  olutions,  never  comes  to  fisty  cufls  or  bowie- 
knives  as  sane  assemblies  have  been  known  to 
do  elsewhere ;  and  conduuts  all  its  proceedings 
;,  with  the  greatest  decorum.    The  irritability, 
which  would  otherwise  be  expended  on  their 
own  flesh,  clothes,  and  furniture,  is  dissipated 
in'these  pursuits.    They  are  cheerful,  tranquil, 
and  healthy. 

Once  a  week,  they  have  a  ball,  in  which  the 
doctor  and  liis  family,  with  all  the  nurses  and 
attendants,  take  an  active  part.  Dances  and 
marches  are  performed  alternately,  to  the  en- 
livening strains  of  a  piano;  and  now  and  then 
some  gentleman  or  lady  (whose  proficiency  has 
been  previously  ascertained)  obliges  the  com- 
pany with  a  song :  nor  does  it  ever  degenerate, 
at  a  tender  crisis,  into  a  screech  or  ho\v| ; 
wherein,  I  must  confess,  I  should  have  thougki! 
the  danger  lay.  At  an  early  hour  they  all  meet 
together  for  these  festive  purposes ;  at  eight 
{  o'clock  refreshments  are  served ;  and  at  nine 
,  they  separate. 

Immense  politeness  and  good-breeding  are 
,  observed  throughout.  They  all  take  their  tone 
from  the  doctor ;  and  he  moves  a  very  Chester- 
;  field  among  the  company.  Like  other  assem- 
1  blies,  these  entertainments  affiird  a  fruitful  topic 
I  of  conversation  among  the  ladies  for  some  days ; 
M  and  the  gentlemen  are  so  anxious  to  shine  on 
*  these  occasions,  that  they  have  been  sometimes 
found  "  >  ractising  their  steps"  in  private,  to  cut 
>  more  distinguii^ed  figure  in  the  dance. 


It  is  obvious  that  one  great  feature  in  thie 
system,  is  the  inculcation  and  encouragement, 
even  among  such  unhappy  persons,  of  a  decent 
self-respect.  Something  of  the  same  spirit  per- 
vades all  the  institutions  at  South  Boston. 

There  is  the  House  of  Industry.  In  that 
branch  of  it  which  is  devoted  to  the  reception 
of  oM  or  otherwise  helpless  pauiiers,  these 
w  irds  are  painted  on  the  walls  :  "  Worthy  or 

N     riCE.        SBLr-GoVBBIfllBNT,     Q0IBTUDB,     AN* 

Pkacb.  abb  BLBsaiifos."  It  is  not  assumed  and 
taken  for  granted  that  being  there  they  must  be 
evil  disposed  and  wicked  petiple,  before  whose 
vicious  eyes  it  is  necessary  to  flourish  threats 
and  harsh  restraints.  They  are  met  at  the 
very  threshold  with  this  mild  appeal.  All  witb- 
in-doors  is  very  plain  and  simple,  as  it  ought  te 
be,  but  arranged  with  a  view  to  peace  and  com* 
fort.  It  costs  no  more  than  any  other  plan  of 
arrangement,  but  it  bespeaks  an  amount  of  con- 
sideration for  those  who  are  reduced  to  seek  a 
shelter  there,  which  puts  them  at  once  upon 
their  gratitude  and  good  behaviour.  Instead  of 
being  parcelled  out  in  great  long,  rambling 
wards,  where  a  certain  amount  of  weazen  lira 
may  mope,  and  pine,  and  shiver,  all  day  long, 
the  building  is  divided  into  separate  rooms,  eadi 
with  its  share  of  light  and  air.  In  these  the 
better  kind  of  paupers  live.  They  have  a  mo- 
tive for  exertion  and  becoming  pride,  in  the  de- 
sire to  make  these  little  chambers  comfortable 
and  decent.  I  do  not  remember  one  but  it  was 
clean  and  neat,  and  had  its  plant  or  two  upoa 
the  window-sill,  or  row  of  crockery  upon  the 
shelf,  or  small  display  of  coloured  prints  upok 
the  white-washed  wall,  or,  perhaps,  its  woodefe 
clock  behind  the  door. 

The  orphans  and  young  children  are  in  an  ad- 
joining building ;  separate  from  this,  but  a  part 
of  the  same  institution.  Some  are  such  littM 
creatures  that  the  stairs  are  of  lilliputian  meas- 
urement, fitted  to  their  tiny  strides  The  same 
consideration  for  their  years  and  weakness  is 
expressed  in  their  very  seats,  which  are  perfbct 
curiosities,  and  look  like  articles  of  furniture  fte 
a  pauper  doH's-house.  I  can  imagine  the  glee 
of  our  Poor  law  Commissioners  at  the  notion  af 
these  seats  having  arms  and  backs  ;  biit  nauH 
spines  being  of  older  date  than  their  occupatioi 
of  the  Board-room  at  Somerset  House,  I  thought 
even  this  provision  very  merciful  and  kind. 

Here  again  I  was  greatly  pleased  with  theflk- 
scriptions  on  the  wall,  which  were  scraps  of 
plain  morality,  easily  remembered  and  under- 
stood :  such  as  "  Love  one  another."  '*  Cod 
remembers  the  smallest  creatnre  in  his  crea- 
tion :"  and  straightforward  advice  (if  that  ha- 
ture.  The  books  and  tasks  of  these  sniallett 
of  scholars  were  adapted,  in  the  same  judicious 
manner,  to  their  chUdish  powers.  When  we 
had  examined'  these  lessons,  four  morsels  of 
girls  (of  whom  one  was  blind)  sang  a  little  song 
about  the  merry  month  of  May,  which  I  ttiougiit 
(being  extremely  dismal)  would  have  suited  an 
English  November  bolter,  'i'hat  done,  we 
went  to  see  their  sleeping-rooms  on  the  door 
above,  in  which  the  arrangements  were  no  less 
excellent  and  gentle  than  tho^e  we  had  seen 
behiw.  And  after  observing  iliat  the  teacheis 
were  of  a  class  and  character  well  suited  tu  the 
spirit  of  the  plaoe,  I  took  leave  of  the  inlauts 


NOTES  OX  AMERICA. 


I  j 


I  hare  taken 


vith  a  lightor  heart  than  erer 
leave  of  pauper  inl'uius  yet. 

Ctiniiected  with  the  House  of  Industry  there 
ia  alsti  a  Hoapitai,  whicli  was  in  the  beat  order, 
•nd  had,  I  am  yiad  to  say,  many  beds  unoccu- 
pied. It  had  one  I'auU,  however,  which  is  com- 
mon to  all  American  interiors :  tlie  presence  ol 
the  eternal  accurso«i.  siifTocatini;,  red-liot  de- 
mon of  a  stove,  whose  breath  would  blight  the 
purest  air  under  Heaven. 

'I'liere  are  two  establishments  for  hoys  in  this 
same  neighbourhood.  One  is  called  the  Boyts- 
ton  sclitH)!,  and  is  an  asylum  for  neglected  and 
Indigent  boys  who  have  cummittod  no  crime, 
but  who,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  things,  would 
Tery  soon  be  purged  of  that  distinction  if  they 
iK'cre  not  taken  from  the  hungry  streets  and 
sent  here.  'I'he  other  is  a  House  of  Reforma- 
tion for  Juvenile  GAenders.  They  arc  both  un- 
der the  same  roof,  but  the  two  classes  of  boys 
never  come  in  contact. 

The  lioylston  boys,  as  may  be  readily  suppo- 
■ed,  have  very  much  the  advantage  of  the  oth- 
ers in  point  ol  personal  apptfarance.  They  were 
in  their  school-room  wtien  I  came  upon  them, 
and  answered  correctly,  without  book,  such 
questions  as  where  was  England  ;  how  far  was 
it ;  what  was  its  population ;  its  capital  city ; 
its  form  of  government,  and  so  forth.  They 
•ang  a  song,  too,  about  a  farmer  sowing  his 
seed :  with  corresponding  action  at  such  pans 
•8  "  'tis  thus  he  sows,"  "  he  turns  him  round," 
**  he  claps  his  hands :"  which  gave  it  greater 
interest  lor  them,  and  accustoiiwd  them  to  act 
together  in  an  orderly  manner.  They  appeared 
exceedingly  well  taught,  and  not  better  taught 
than  fed ;  lor  a  more  chubby-looking,  full-waist* 
coated  set  of  boys  I  never  saw. 

The  juvenile  offenders  had  not  such  pleasant 
laces  by  a  great  deal,  and  in  this  establishment 
ttiere  were  many  boys  of  colour.  I  saw  them 
first  at  their  work  (basket-making,  and  the  man- 
ufacture of  palm-leaf  hats),  afterward  in  their 
school,  where  they  sang  a  chorus  in  praise  of 
Liberty :  an  odd,  and,  one  would  think,  rather 
a|[gravating  theme  for  prisoners  The  boys  are 
divided  into  four  classes,  each  denoted  by  a  nu- 
meral, 'worn  on  a  badge  upon  the  arm.  On  the 
arrival  of  a  new  comer,  he  is  put  into  the  fourth 
or  lowest  class,  and  left,  by  good  behaviour,  to 
work  his  way  up  into  the  first.  The  design  and 
object  of  this  institution  are  to  reclaim  the  youth- 
ful criminal  by  firm  but  kind  and  judicious  treat- 
ment ;  to  make  his  prison  a  place  of  purification 
and  improvement,  not  of  demoralisation  and 
corruption ;  to  impress  upon  him  that  there  is 
but  one  path,  and  that  one  sober  industry,  which 
can  ever  lead  him  to  happiness ;  to  teach  him 
bow  it  may  be  trodden,  if  his  footsteps  have 
never  yet  been  led  that  way  ;  and  to  lure  him 
back  to  it  if  they  have  strayed :  in  a  word,  to 
snatch  him  from  destruction,  and  restore  him 
to  society  a  penitent  and  useful  member.  The 
importance  of  such  an  establishment,  in  every 
point  of  view,  and  with  reference  to  every  con- 
sideration of  humanity  and  social  policy,  re- 
quires no  comment. 

One  other  establishment  closes  the  catalogue. 
It  is  the  House  of  Correction  for  the  State,  in 
which  silence  is  strictly  maintained,  hut  wliere 
the  prisoners  have  the  comtbrt  and  mental  re- 
lief of  seeuig  each  other,  and  uf  working  togeth- 


er. This  is  the  Improved  system  of  pris«ni  dis- 
cipline which  we  have  imported  into  England, 
and  wliifli  has  been  in  successlul  operation 
among  us  for  some  years  |>aat. 

America,  as  a  new,  and  not  over-pnpulated 
country,  has,  in  all  her  prisons,  the  one  great 
advantage,  of  being  enabled  Ut  find  useful  and 
profitable  work  lor  the  inmates ;  whereas,  with 
us,  the  prejudice  againsit  priwiii  labour  is  nat- 
urally very  strong,  and  ahuost  iiiaurmountahle, 
when  honest  men,  wIhi  have  not  ofteiidej 
against  the  laws,  are  frequently  dtioined  to  seek 
employment  in  vain.  Uvea  in  the  United 
States,  the  principle  of  bringing  convict  labour 
and  free  labour  into  a  competition  which  must 
tibviousiy  be  to  the  disadvantage  uf  Uie  latter, 
has  already  found  many  opponents,  whose  num- 
ber is  not  likely  to  diminish  with  access  of 
years. 

For  this  very  reason  though,  our  best  prisons 
would  seem  at  the  first  glanue  to  be  better  con- 
ducted than  those  of  America.    The  treadiuill 
is  accompanied  with  liitJe  «>r  no  noise ;  five 
hundred  men  may  pick  oakum  in  the  saitie  nKini 
without  a  sound  ;  and  b<ith  kinds  of  labour  ad- 
tnit  of  such  keen  and  vigilant  superintendence 
as  will  render  even  a  word  of  personal  commu- 
nication among  the  prisoners  almost  iiiipossiblc. 
On  the  other  hand,  tlie  noise  of  the  loom,  the 
forge,  the  carpenter's  hammer,  or  the  stone-ma- 
son's saw,  greatly  favour  those  opportunities  of 
intercourse — hurried  and  brief  no  doubt,  but  op- 
portunities still — which  these  several  kinds  of 
work,  by  rendering  it  necessary  for  men  to  be 
employed  very  near  to  each  other,  and  often 
side  by  side,  without  any  barrier  or  partition  be- 
tween them,  in  their  very  nature  present    A 
visiter,  too,  requires  to  reason  and  reflect  a  little, 
before  the  sight  of  a  number  of  men  engaged  m 
ordinary  labour;  such  as  he  is  accustomed  to 
out  of  doors,  will  impress  him  half  as  strongly 
as  the  contemplation  of  the  same  persons  in  tlie 
same  place  and  garb  would,  if  they  were  occo-    .- 
pied  in  some  task,  marked  and  degraded  everv-   | 

In  i 


where  as  belonging  only  to  lieions  in  jails. 
an  American  state  prison  or  house  of  correction 
I  found  it  difilcult  at  first  to  persuade  myself 
that  I  was  really  in  a  jail :  a  place  of  ignomin- 
ious punishment  and  endurance.  And  to  this* 
hour  i  very  much  question  whether  the  humane 
boast  that  it  is  not  like  one,  has  its  root  in  the 
true  wisdom  or  philosophy  of  the  matter. 

I  hope  I  may  not  be  misunderstood  on  this 
subject,  for  it  is  one  in  which  I  take  a  strong 
and  deep  interest.  I  incline  as  little  to  the  sick- 
ly feeling  which  makes  every  canting  lie  or 
maudlin  speech  of  a  notori«iua  criminal  a  subject 
of  newspaper  report  and  general  uyiiipaihy,  a;i  f 
do  to  those  good  old  customs  of  the  good  old 
tunes  which  made  England,  even  so  riuently  as 
in  the  reign  of  the  third  King  George,  in  respect 
of  her  criminal  code  and  her  prwonregulaii'iiis, 
one  of  the  most  bloody  minded  ana  iiarbaious 
countries  on  the  earth.  If  I  thought  it  would 
do  any  good  to  the  rising  generation,  I  would 
cheei  fully  give  my  consent  to  the  di&inieriueut 
of  the  bttnes  of  any  genteel  higliwayman  (liie 
more  gentei  I,  the  more  cheerfully),  ami  to  iiicir 
exposure,  pi.^ceiiieul,  on  any  bi^ju  post,  g<ae,  or 
gibbet,  that  might  l>e  detmed  a  go<.d  elevaii.m 
lor  the  purpose.  My  reason  i^  aa  well  uoiiv.n- 
ced  that  thoM  gentry  were  mierly  wortlUdtts 


and  Aiht 
and  jails 
that  thei 
the  pri»4 
days,  ha 
were,  to 
coinpani* 
men  do 
Disciplin 
any  com 
and  brig 
head,  Ai 
bene  vole 
ing  her 
elled  upt 
all  its  dr 
its  own. 

The 
these  rei 
but  is 
stakes,  i 
sure  for 
resented 
prisoner 
wlio  are 
making 
the  latie 
tl.e  stnn 
erection 
skilfully 
very  few 
quired  tl 
Thev 
ployed  ii 
and  the 
In  sileni 
overlool 
labour, 
In  addit 
to  he  vii 
that  pui 
The  i 
clothes, 
those  I 
stowing 
eral  ad 
eimple 
area,  lif 
five  tie 
tier  hai 
able  by 
terial: 
ground 
and  fac 
ing  rov 
BO  that 
cells,  a 
bis  ba( 
der  his 
equall} 


*  Apm 
which  w 
which  it 
•ra  two 
•onit)  dc 
or  reml  i 
conduct 
MkMIci 
tertuo. 
Public 
•nit  it « 
(or  the  I 


•I 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA, 


tern  of  pr'imm  dit- 
tetl  intu  KiiKlantl, 

(»t  over-populated 
III,  the  one  ((reat 

0  find  iiacliil  and 
8 ;  whereas,  with 
oil  labour  i«  imt- 

iiiaurmountable, 
ve  not  ofreiideJ 
y  doomed  to  aeek 

1  in  the  United 
ng  convitrt  lub<iur 
ititin  which  niudt 
ajre  iif  tlie  latter, 
eiits,  whose  iiuni- 

i  With  ucueaa  of 

I,  our  best  prisons 
to  be  bt^ttcr  con- 
I.    'I'he  treadiiiill 
r  no  noitte ;  tive 
in  the  baiiie  room 
lids  of  labour  ad- 
'  superintendence 
personal  commu- 
ilmost  impossible, 
of  the  loom,  the 
,  or  the  Btone-iiia- 
«  opportunities  of  . 
r  no  doubt,  but  op. 
several  kinds  of 
iry  for  men  to  be 
other,  and  ollen 
er  or  partition  b»- 
iture  present.    A 
and  reflect  H  little, 
>f  men  eni^ged  jn 
is  accustomed  to 
1  half  as  strongly 
me  persons  in  tiie 
f  they  were  occu- 
I  degraded  eyery-   : 
Ions  in  jails.    In   < 
luse  of  correction 
persuade  myself 
place  of  ignomin* 
toe.    And  to  this, 
ether  the  humane 
laa  its  root  in  the 
ihe  matter, 
iderstood  on  this 
I  I  take  a  strong 
little  to  the  sick- 
y  canting  lie  or 
sriininal  a  subject 
al  sympaihy,  as  f 
of  the  good  old 
en  so  recently  as 
reorge,  in  respect 
nson  regtildti.iiis, 
d  and  itarbaious 
thought  It  would 
leraiton,  I  would 
the  diainierment 
ighwayman  <liie 
iliy),  and  to  iiicir 
igo  post,  g.tie,  or 
a  go..d  elevaii.m 
i  aa  well  couv.ii. 
tilerly  worthless 


and  dohauehed  villaina,  as  it  is  that  the  laws 
and  jails  hardened  iliein  in  their  evd  courses,  or 
thai  their  wonderful  escapes  were  efleeted  hy 
the  pri«4Mi- turnkeys,  who,  in  those  admirable 
(lays,  bad  always  l>een  felons  themselves,  and 
were,  to  the  last,  their  bosom-friends  and  pot- 
companions.  At  the  same  time  I  know,  as  all 
men  do  or  should,  that  the  suhjeet  of  Prison 
Discipline  is  one  of  the  highest  importance  to 
any  ctinimunity,  and  that  in  her  sweeping  reform 
and  bright  example  to  other  countries  on  thin 
bead.  America  has  shown  great  wisdom,  greiit 
benevitlence,  and  exalted  policy.  In  contrast- 
ing her  system  with  that  which  we  have  mod- 
elled up«)n  it,  I  merely  seek  to  show  that,  with 
all  its  drawbacks,  ours  has  some  advantages  of 
its  own.* 

The  House  of  Correction,  which  has  led  to 
these  remarks,  is  not  walled,  like  other  prisims, 
but  is  palisaded  round  about  with  tall,  rough 
stakes,  something  after  the  manner  of  an  enelo 
sure  for  keeping  elephants  in,  as  we  see  it  rep 
resented  in  Eastern  prints  and  pictures.  The 
prisoners  wear  a  particoloured  dress ;  and  those 
who  are  sentenced  lo  hard  labour,  work  at  nail- 
making  or  stone-cutting.  When  I  was  there, 
the  latter  class  of  labourers  were  employed  upon 
tlie  st<»ne  lor  a  new  custom-house  in  course  of 
erection  at  Boston.  They  appeared  to  shape  it 
skilfully  and  with  expedition,  thctugh  there  were 
very  few  among  them  (if  any)  who  bad  not  ac- 
quired the  art  witnii)  the  prisim  gates. 

The  women,  all  in  one  large  room,  were  em- 
fdoyed  in  making  <ight  clothing,  for  New-Orleans 
and  the  Southern  States.  They  did  their  work 
in  silence,  like  the  men,  and,  like  them,  were 
overlooked  by  the  person  otmtracting  for  their 
labour,  or  by  some  agent  of  his  appointment. 
In  addition  to  this,  they  are  every  moment  liable 
to  be  visited  by  the  prison  officers  appointed  for 
that  purpose. 

The  arrangements  for  cooking,  washing  of 
clothes,  and  so  forth,  are  much  upon  the  pkui  of 
thtise  I  have  seen  at  home.  Their  mode  of  be- 
stowing the  prisoners  at  night  (which  is  of  gen 
eral  adoption)  differs  from  ours,  and  is  both 
eimple  and  effective.  In  the  centre  of  a  lofty 
area,  lighted  by  windows  in  the  four  walls,  are 
£ve  tiers  of  cells,  one  above  the  other ;  each 
tier  having  before  it  a  light  iron  gallery,  attain- 
able by  stairs  of  the  same  construction  and  ma- 
lerial :  excepting  the  lower  one,  which  is  on  the 
ground.  Behind  these,  back  to  back  with  them 
and  facing  the  opposite  wall,  are  five  correspond- 
ing rows  of  cells,  accessible  by  similar  means : 
so  that  supposing  the  prisoners  locked  up  in  their 
cells,  an  officer  stationed  on  the  ground,  with 
his  back  to  the  wall,  has  half  their  number  un- 
der his  eye  at  once;  the  remaining  half  being 
equally  under  the  observation  of  another  officer 


*  Apart  from  profit  made  by  tha  uioful  labour  of  prisnaers, 
which  we  c«ii  uever  hope  to  realho  tu  any  great  extent,  and 
which  it  is  perhaps  nut  expedient  for  us  tu  try  to  gam,  there 
•re  two  pritoni  in  London,  in  all  retpei'ta  eqbal,  and  in 
•omo  deeidedly  luperior,  to  any  I  saw  or  have  ever  lieai-d 
or  reail  of  in  America.  One  is  th«  Tuthill  Fields  Bridewell, 
conducted  by  Lieutenant  A.  F.  Tracey.  R.N. ;  the  other  the 
MiiUlciex  Ituuae  of  (;orrectiun,  superintended  by  Mr.  Ches- 
terton. This  gentleman  alto  holds  an  appointment  in  the 
Public  Service.  Both  are  euligbtMued  and  su|ierior  men : 
and  it  would  be  a*  dilScult  to  Bnd  persona  better  qualified 
for  the  functions  they  diaeharga  With  fiminess,  zerl,  intelli- 
(eoM.  and  humanity,  as  it  would  b«  tu  exceed  the  perfect 
arder  asd  airaacMBent  af  the  iaatitiitiuDs  they  gasrera. 


on  the  opposite  side :  and  all  In  one  grnt  apart- 
ment. Unless  this  watih  be  corrupted  or  eleep- 
ini{  on  his  [>ost.  it  is  impossible  for  a  man  to  es- 
cape :  for  even  in  the  event  of  his  fitreiug  the 
iron  door  of  his  cell  without  noise  (which  is  ex- 
ceedingly improbable),  the  moment  he  apjiears 
outside,  and  steps  into  thnt  one  ol  the  tive  gal- 
leries on  which  it  is  situated,  be  must  be  plain- 
ly and  liijly  vinible  to  the  officer  below.  Ench 
of  these  cellx  holds  a  small  truckle-bed,  in  which 
one  prisoner  sleeps ;  never  more  It  is  small, 
of  course ;  and  thi'  donr  being  not  sttlid,  but 
grated,  and  without  blind  or  curtain,  the  prison- 
er within  is  at  all  times  exposed  to  the  obser- 
vation and  inspection  of  any  guard  who  may 
pass  along  'liat  tier  at  any  hour  or  minute  of  the 
night.  Every  day  the  pristinera  rei-eive  their 
dinner,  singly,  tlirotigh  a  trap  in  the  kin-ben 
wall ;  and  each  man  carries  his  to  his  sleeping 
cell  to  eat  it,  where  he  is  locked  up,  alone,  for 
that  purpose,  one  hour.  The  whole  of  this  ar- 
rangement struck  me  as  being  admirable ;  and 
I  hope  that  the  next  new  prison  we  erect  in 
England  may  be  built  i>n  this  plan. 

I  was  given  to  understand  that  in  this  prison 
no  swords  or  firearms,  or  even  cudgels,  are 
kept ;  nor  is  it  probable  that,  so  long  as  its  pre»> 
ent  excellent  management  continues,  any  weap- 
on, offensive  or  defensive,  will  ever  be  required 
within  its  bounds. 

Such  are  the  Institutions  at  South  Boston  1 
In  all  of  them,  the  unfortunate  or  degenerate 
citizens  of  the  State  are  carefully  instructed  in 
their  duties  both  to  God  and  man ;  are  surround' 
ed  by  all  reasonable  means  of  comfort  and  hap- 
piness that  their  condition  will  admit  of;  are 
appealed  to,  as  members  of  the  great  human 
family,  however  afflicted,  indigent,  or  fallen; 
are  ruled  by  the  strong  Heart,  and  not  by  the 
strong  (though  immeasurably  weaker)  Hand.' 
I  bare  described  tbem  at  some  length :  first, 
because  their  worth  demanded  it ;  and  serond- 
ly,  because  I  mean  to  take  tbem  for  a  model, 
and  to  content  myself  with  saying  of  others  we 
may  come  to,  whose  design  and  purpose  are  the 
same,  that  in  this  or  that  respect  they  practical 
ly  fail,  or  dififer. 

I  wish  by  this  account  of  tbem,  imperfect  ia 
its  execution,  but  in  its  just  intention  honest,  I 
could  hope  to  convey  to  my  readers  one  him- 
dredth  part  of  the  gratification,  the  sifl^ts  I  haro 
described,  afforded  me. 


To  an  Englishman,  accustomed  to  the  para- 
phernalia of  Westminster  Hall,  an  Amerk»o 
Oourt  of  Law  is  as  odd  a  sight  as,  I  suppose,  an 
English  Court  of  Law  would  be  to  an  American. 
Except  in  the  Supreme  Court  at  Washington 
(where  the  judges  wear  a  plain  black  robe),  there 
is  no  such  thing  as  a  wig  or  gown  connected 
with  the  administration  of  justice.  The  gentle- 
men of  the  bar  being  barristers  and  attorneys 
too  (for  there  is  no  division  of  those  functions 
as  in  England),  are  no  more  removed  from  their 
clients  than  attorneys  in  our  Ctmrt  for  the  Relief 
of  Insolvent  Debtors  are,  from  theirs  The  juty 
are  quite  at  home,  and  make  themselves  as 
comfortable  asciicumstances  will  permit.  The 
witness  is  so  little  elevated  above,  or  put  almif 
from,  the  crowd  in  the  court,  that  a  stranger 
entering  during  a  pause  in  the  proceedings  would 
find  it  difficult  to  pick  him  out  from  the  reat. 


94 


NOTES  ON  Ak'ERICA. 


if 
'I 

I'.'fil; 


|ii> 


Aqd  if  it  chanced  to  be  a  criminal  trial,  hia  eyes, 
in  nine  canes  out  of  ten,  would  wander  to  tii»' 
dock  in  aeatch  of  the  prisoner,  in  vain ;  for  that 
geiitlemitii  would  most  likely  be  lounging  among 
tlfie  most  distinguished  ornaments  of  the  legal 
profession,  whispering  suggestions  in  his  coun 
st'I's  ear,  or  making  a  toothpick  out  of  an  old 
quill  with  his  penknitn. 

I  could  not  but  notice  these  difTerenoes,  when 
I  visited  the  courts  at  Boston.  I  was  much  sur- 
prised at  Hrst,  too,  to  observe  that  the  counsel 
who  interrogated  the  witness  under  examination 
at  the  time,  did  so  sUthip-.  But  seeing  that  he 
was  also  occupied  in  writing  down  the  answers, 
and  remembering  that  he  was  alone  and  had  no 
"junior,"  I  quickly  consoled  myself  with  there- 
flection  that  law  was  not  quite  so  expensive  an 
article  here,  as  at  home ;  and  that  the  absence 
of  sundry  formalities  which  we  regard  as  indis 
P'nsable,  had  doubtless  a  very  favourable  influ- 
ence upon  the  bill  of  costs. 

In  every  court,  ample  and  commodious  pro- 
vision is  made  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
citizens.  This  is  the  case  all  through  AiT>crica. 
In  every  public  institution,  the  right  of  the  peo- 
ple to  attend,  and  to  have  an  interest  in  the  pro- 
ceedmgs,  is  most  fuliy  and  distinctly  recognised. 
There  are  no  grim  door-keepers  to  dole  out  their 
tardy  civility  by  the  sixpenny-worth;  nor  is 
there,  I  simrerely  believe,  any  insolence  of  of- 
fice of  any  kind.  Nothing  national  is  exhibited 
for  money  ;  and  no  public  oflicer  is  a  showman. 
We  h»ve  begun  of  late  years  to  imitate  this 
good  example.  I  hope  we  shall  continue  to  do 
so ;  and  that  in  the  fulness  of  time,  even  deans 
and  chapters  mny  be  converted. 

In  the  civil  court,  an  action  was  trying,  for 
damages  sustained  in  some  accident  upon  a 
railway.  I'he  witness  had  been  examined,  and 
counsel  was  addressing  the  jury.  The  learned 
gentleman  (like  a  few  of  his  English  brethren) 
was  desperately  long-winded,  ^nd  had  a  re- 
markable capacity  of  saying  the  same  thing 
over  and  over  again.  His  great  theme  was 
"  Warren  the  Engine  driver,"  whom  he  pressed 
into  the  service  of  every  sentence  he  uttered. 
I  listened  to  him  for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour ; 
«nd,  commg  out  of  court  at  the  expiration  of 
that  time,  without  the  faintest  ray  of  enlighten- 
ment as  tu  the  merits  of  the  case,  felt  as  if  I 
were  at  home  again. 

In  the  prisoners'  cell,  waiting  to  be  examined 
by  the  magistrate  on  a  charge  of  theft,  was  a 
boy.  This  lad,  instead  of  being  committed  to 
a  common  jail,  would  be  sent  to  the  Asylum  at 
South  Boston,  and  there  taught  a  trade ;  and  in 
the  course  of  time,  he  would  be  bound  appren- 
tice to  some  re8|)ec '.  ible  master.  Thus,  his  de- 
tecliou  in  this  offence,  instead  of  being  the  pre- 
lude to  a  life  of  infamy  and  a  miserable  death, 
would  lead,  there  was  a  reasonable  hope,  to  his 
being  reclaimed  fnmi  vice,  and  becoming  a 
wortliy  meukber  of  society. 

I  am  by  no  means  awholesje  admirer  of  our 
legal  solemnilies,  many  of  which  impress  me  as 
bring  exceedingly  ludicrous.  Strange  as  it  may 
seem,  too,  there  is  undoubtedly  a  degree  of  pro 
te(Ui()n  in  the  wig  and  gown — a  dismis.sal  of 
individual  responsibility  in  dressing  fur  the 
pan — wliicb  eturourages  that  insolent  bearing 
and  language,  and  that  gross  perversion  of  the 
olfiue  of  a  pleader  fur  Tlie  Truth,  su  frequent 


in  our  courts  of  law.  Still,  I  cannot  help  doubt- 
ing whether  .America,  in  her  desire  to  shake  oflT 
the  absurdities  and  abuses  of  the  old  system, 
may  not  have  gone  too  far  into  the  opposite 
extreme ;  and,  whether  it  is  not  desirable,  es- 
pecially in  the  small  community  of  a  city  like 
this,  where  each  man  knows  the  other,  to  sur- 
round the  administration  of  justice  with  some 
artificial  barriers  against  the  "  Hail  fellow,  well 
met"  deportment  of  everyday  life.  All  the  aid 
it  can  have  in  the  very  high  character  and  ability 
of  the  Bench,  not  only  here  but  elsewhere,  it 
has,  and  well  deserves  to  have ;  but  it  may 
need  something  more :  not  to  impress  the 
thoughtful  and  the  well-informed,  but  the  ig- 
norant and  heedless;  a  class  which  includes 
some  prisoners  and  many  witnesses.  These 
institutions  were  established,  no  doubt,  upoa 
the  principle,  that  those  who  had  so  large  a 
sliare  in  making  the  laws  would  certainly  re- 
spect them.  But  experience  has  proved  this 
hope  to  be  fallacious ;  for  no  \aen  know  better 
than  the  Judges  of  America,  that  on  the  occa- 
sion of  any  great  popular  excitement,  the  law 
is  powerless,  and  cannot,  for  the  time,  assert 
its  own  supremacy. 

The  tone  of  society,  in  Boston,  is  one  of  per« 
feet  politeness,  courtesy,  and  good  breeding. 
The  ladies  are  unquestionably  very  beautiful— 
in  face :  but  there  I  am  compelled  to  stop. 
Tiieir  education  is  much  as  with  us ;  neither 
better  nor  worse.  I  had  heard  some  very  mar- 
vellous stories  in  this  respect ;  but  not  believ- 
ing them,  was  not  disappointed.  Blue  ladies 
there  are,  in  Boston ;  but  like  philosophers  of 
that  colour  and  sex  in  most  other  latitudes, 
they  ratlier  desire  to  be  thought  superior  than 
to  be  so.  Evangelical  ladies  there  are,  like- 
wise, whose  attachment  to  the  forms  of  religion, 
and  horror  of  theatrical  entertainments,  are  most 
exemplary.  Ladies  who  have  a  passion  for  at- 
tending lectures  are  to  be  found  among  all  class- 
es and  all  conditions.  In  the  kind  of  provincial 
life  which  prevails  in  cities  such  as  this,  the 
Pulpit  has  great  influence.  The  peculiar  pro- 
vince of  the  Pulpit  in  New  England  (always  ex- 
cepting the  Unitarian  ministry)  would  appear  to 
be  the  denouncement  of  all  innocent  and  rational 
amusements.  The  church,  the  chapel,  and  the 
lecture-room,  are  the  only  means  of  excitement 
excepted ;  and  to  the  church,  the  cha|>el,  and 
the  lecture-room,  the  ladies  resort  in  crowds. 

Wherever  religion  is  resorted  to,  as  a  strong 
drink,  and  as  an  escape  from  the  dull,  monot- 
onous round  of  home,  those  of  its  ministers 
who  pepper  the  highest  will  be  the  surest  to 
please.  They  who  strew  the  Eternal  Path 
with  the  greatest  amount  of  brimstone,  and 
who  most  ruthlessly  tread  down  the  flowers 
and  leaves  that  grow  by  the  way-side,  will  be 
voted  the  most  righteous ;  and  they  who  en- 
large with  the  greatest  |)ertinacity  on  the  difTi- 
culty  of  getting  into  heaven,  wiil  l>c  considered, 
ny  all  true  believers,  certain  of  going  there : 
tliough  if  would  be  hard  to  say  by  what  process 
of  reasoning  this  conclusion  is  arrived  at.  It  is 
8:>  at  home,  and  it  is  so  abroad.  With  regard 
to  the  other  means  of  excitement,  the  Lecture, 
it  .las  at  least  tiic  merit  of  being  always  new. 
One  lecture  treads  so  quickly  on  the  heels  of 
another,  that  none  are  remembered ;  and  the 
ouurse  of  this  month  may  be  safely  repeated 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


innot  help  doabt> 
isire  to  shake  oflT 
the  old  system, 
ito  the  oppusjta 
ot  desirable,  es- 
ty  of  a  city  like 
he  other,  to  sur- 
stice  witli  some 
Hail  fellow,  well 
life.  All  the  aid 
racter  and  ability 
lut  elsewhere,  it 
ve;  but  it  may 
to  impress  the 
ned,  but  the  ig- 
which  includes 
itnesses.  These 
no  doubt,  upon 
I  had  so  large  a. 
luld  certainly  re- 
has  proved  this 
nen  know  better 
hat  on  the  occa< 
litement,  the  law 
the  time,  assert 

on,  is  one  of  per- 
1  good  breeding. 
■  very  beautiful — 
mpelled  to  stop, 
with  us;  neither 
1  some  very  mar- 
;  but  not  heliev- 
ted.     Blue  ladies 
i  philosophers  of 
t  other  latitudes, 
ght  superior  than 
s  there  are,  like- 
I  forms  of  religion, 
linmcnts,  are  most 
e  a  passion  for  at- 
id  among  all  class- 
kind  of  provincial 
such  as  this,  the 
The  peculiar  pro- 
igland  (always  ex- 
y)  would  appear  to 
locent  and  rational 
he  chapel,  and  the 
lans  of  excitement 
li,  the  cha|>el,  and 
csort  in  crowds, 
ted  to,  as  a  strong 
n  the  dull,  monot- 
B  of  its  ministers 
I  be  the  surest  to 
the  Eternal  Path 
[)f  brimstone,  and 
down  the  flowers 
way-side,  will  be 
and  they  who  en- 
nacity  on  the  difli- 
wiil  be  considered, 
n  of  going  there : 
ly  l)y  what  process 
is  arrived  at.    It  is 
Bad.    With  regard 
ment.  the  Lecture, 
being  always  new. 
ly  on  the  heels  of 
eiiibercd;  and  the 
lie  safely  repeated 


i 


: 


mext,  with  its  obarm  of  novelty  unbroken,  and 
its  interest  unabated. 

Tlie  fruits  of  the  earth  have  their  growth  in 
corruption.  Out  of  the  rottenness  of  these 
things,  there  has  sprung  up,  in  Boston,  a  sect 
of  philosophers  known  as  Transcendentalists. 
On  inquiring  what  this  appellation  might  be 
supposed  to  signify,  F  was  given  to  understand 
that  whatever  was  unintelligible  would  be  cer- 
tainly transcendental.  Not  deriving  much  com- 
fort from  this  elucidation,  I  pursued  the  inquiry 
still  farther,  and  found  that  the  Transcendental- 
ists are  followers  of  my  friend,  Mr.  Carlyle,  or, 
I  should  rather  say,  of  a  follower  of  his,  Mr. 
Ralph  Waldo  Emerson.  This  gentleman  has 
written  a  volume  of  Essays,  in  which,  among 
much  that  is  dreamy  and  fanciful  (if  he  will 
pardon  me  for  saying  so),  there  is  nmch  more 
that  is  true  and  manly,  honest  and  bold.  Trans- 
cendentalism has  its  occasional  vagaries  (what 
school  has  not  1)  but  it  has  good  healthful  quali- 
ties in  spite  of  them ;  not  least  among  the  num- 
ber a  hearty  disgust  of  cant,  and  an  aptitude  to 
detect  her  in  all  the  million  varieties  o*^  her 
everlasting  wardrobe.  And  therefore  if  I  were 
a  Bostoniani  I  think  I  would  be  a  Transcendent- 
alist. 

The  only  preacher  I  heard  in  Boston  was  Mr. 
Taylor,  who  addresses  himself  peculiarly  to  sea- 
men, and  who  was  once  a  mariner  himself    I 
found  his  chapel  down  among  the  shipping,  in 
ne  of  the  narrow,  old,  water-side  streets,  with 
^a  gay  blue  flag  waving  freely  from  its  roof    In 
>e  gallery  opposite  to  the  pulpit  were  a  little 
hoir  of  male  and  female  singers,  a  violoncello, 
nd  a  violin.    'J'he  preacher  already  sat  in  the 
lulpit,  which  was  raise<l  on  pillars,  and  orna- 
mented behind  him  with  painted  drapery  of  a 
vely  and  somewhat  theatrical  appearance.    He 
ked  a  weather-beaten,  hard-featnred  man,  of 
ibout  six  or  eight  an(<  fifty;  with  deep  lines 
^aven  as  it  were  into  his  face,  dark  hair,  and  a 
jitern,  keen  eye:    Yet  the  general  character  of 
itis  countenance  was  pleasant  and  agreeable. 
The  service  commenced  with  u  hymn,  to 
vhich  succeeded  an  extemporary  prayer.    It 
kad  the  fault  of  frequent  repetition,  incidental  to 
dl  such  prayers;  but  it  was  plain  and  compre- 
leasive  in  its  doctrines,  and  breathed  a  tone  of 
;eneral  sympathy  and  charity,  which  is  not  so 
ommonly  a  characteristic  of  this  form  of  ad- 
ress  to  the  Deity  as  it  might  be.    That  done, 
a  opened  his  discourse,  taking  for  his  text  a 
Mssi^je  from  the  Songs  of  Solomon,  laid  upon 
he  desk  belbre  the  commenceraeut  of  the  ser- 
vice by  some  unknown  member  of  the  ctm- 
;regation :  "  Who  is  this  coming  up  from  the 
trilderness,  leaning  on  the  arm  of  her  beloved !" 
He  handled  this  text  in  all  kinds  of  ways,  and 
sted  it  into  all  manner  of  shapes ;  but  al- 
ays  ingeniously,  and  with  a  rude  eloquence, 
ell-adapted  to  ttie  comprehension  of  his  hearers, 
deed,  if  I  be  nut  mibtaken,  he  studied  tiieir 
(iipathies  and  understandings  much  more  than 
le  display  of  his  own  powers.     His  imagery 
as  all  drawn  from  the  sea,  and  from  the  inci- 
Ills  of  a  seamen's  life ;  and  was  often  re- 
Hrkal>ly  good.     He  s|)oke  to  them  of  "  that  glo- 
uus  mail.  Lord  Nelson,'*  and  of  Collingwood  ; 
id  drew  n.iiilMng  in,  as  the  saying  is,  by  the 
ad  and  shoulders,  but  brouglit  it  to  bear  upon 
purpose  uaturally,  and  with  a  sharp  mind  to 


its  eflect.  Sometimes,  when  much  excited  witb 
his  subject,  he  had  an  odd  way — coiii|Nmnded  of 
John  Bunyan  and  Balfour  of  Burley — o(  taking 
his  great  quarto  Bible  under  his  arm  and  pitcing 
up  down  the  pulpit  with  it ;  lo«iking  steadily 
down,  meantime,  into  the  midst  of  the  congre- 
gation. Thus,  when  he  applied  his  text  t«»  the 
first  assemblage  of  his  hearers,  and  pictured  the 
wonder  of  the  church  at  their  presumption  in 
forming  a  congregation  among  themselves,  he 
stopped  short  with  his  Bible  under  his  arm  in  the 
manner  I  have  described,  and  pursued  bis  dis- 
course after  this  manner : 

"  Who  are  these — who  are  they — who  are 
these  fellows!  where  do  they  come  from!  where 
are  they  going  to !  Come  from  !  Wliat's  the 
answer !"  leaning  out  of  the  pulpit,  and  point- 
ing downward  with  his  right  hand :  "  From  begr 
low !"  starting  back  again,  and  looking  at  the 
sailors  before  him  :  "  From  below,  my  brethren. 
From  under  the  hatches  of  sin,  battened  down 
above  you  by  the  evil  one.  That's  where  yoi| 
came  from !"  a  walk  up  and  down  the  pulpit : 
"  and  where  are  you  going" — stopping  ahrupily, 
"where  are  you  going!  Aloft!"  —  very  soft- 
ly, and  pointing  upward:  "Aloft!" — louder: 
"  aloft !"— louder  stilt :  "  That's  where  you  are 
going — with  a  fair  wind — all  taut  and  trim, 
steering  direct  for  Heaven  in  its  glory,  where 
there  are  no  storms  or  foul  weather,  and  where 
the  wicked  cease  from  troubling,  and  the  weary 
are  at  rest." — Another  walk:  "That's  where 
you're  going  to,  my  friends.  I'lial's  it.  Tliat'^ 
the  place.  That's  tho  port.  That's  the.  haven. 
It's  a  blessed  harbour — Gtill  water  there,  in  all 
changes  of  the  winds  and  tides ;  no  driving 
ashore  upon  the  rocks,  or  slipping  your  cables 
and  running  out  to  sea,  there :  Peace — peai^e — 
peace— all  peace  !" — Another  walk,  and  putting 
the  Bible  under  his  left  arm  :  "  What !  Thes^ 
fellows  are  coming  from  the  wilderness,  ake 
they  !  Yes.  From  the  dreary,  blighted  wilder* 
ness  of  Iniquity,  whose  only  crop  is  Death. 
But  do  they  lean  upon  anything — do  tliey  lean 
upon  nothing,  these  poor  seamen !"  —  fttree 
raps  upon  the  Bible :  "  Oh  yes.  Yes.  They 
'ean  upon  the  arm  of  their  Beloved" — thre» 
more  raps :  "  upon  the  arm  of  their  Beloved"— t 
three  more,  and  a  walk :  "  Pilot,  guiding-star, 
and  compass,  all  in  one,  to  all  liands— liere  ii 
is" — three  more :  "  Here  it  is.  They  can  do  their 
seamen's  duty  manfully,  and  be  easy  in  titeir 
minds  in  the  utmost  peril  and  danger,  with  this" 
— two  more :  "  They  can  come,  even  these 
poor  fellows  can  come,  from  the  wilderness 
leaning  on  the  arm  of  their  Beloved,  and  go  u|» 
— up — up !" — raising  his  hand  higher  and  high- 
er at  every  repetition  of  the  word,  so  that  he 
stood  with  it  at  last  stretched  above  his  head, 
regarding  them  in  a  strange,  rapt  manner,  and 
pressing  the  book  triumphantly  to  his  breast, 
until  he  gradually  subsided  into  some  other  p<ir- 
lion  of  his  discourse. 

I  have  cited  this  rather  as  an  instance  of  the 
preacher's  eccentricities  than  his  merits,  thungli, 
taken  in  connexion  with  his  look  and  iiiaiiiier, 
and  the  character  of  his  audience,  even  this 
was  striking.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  my 
favourable  impression  of  him  may  have  bet-n 
greatly  inttueuoed  and  strengthened,  firstly,  by 
his  impressing  up<m  his  hearers  that  the  true 
observance  of  religion  was  nut  iiioousisieol. 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


I 
f 


ili 


Mh'  I, 


with  a  cheerful  deportment  and  an  exact  (lis 
ritarge  of  the  diiiieti  iif  their  station,  which,  in- 
deed, it  svriipiiloiisly  requireti  of  them ;  and  se*-- 
tiudly,  hv  hid  naiitidniiij;  ihrni  not  to  set  up  «n\ 
nioiiti|)oly  in  Paradise  and  its  niernies.  I  never 
lieard  these  two  |N)ints  so  wisely  ton«'hed  (if,  in- 
deed, I  have  ever  heard  them  touched  at  all),  h\ 
any  preat^her  or  that  kind  belore. 

Havinf;  passed  the  time  I  spent  in  Boston  in 
making  myself  acquainted  with  these  things,  in 
•ettling  the  course  I  should  take  in  my  future 
travels,  and  mixing  eonstantly  with  its  so<;iety. 
I  am  not  aware  that  I  have  any  occasion  ((' 
pndong  this  chapter.  Su(th  of  its  social  eus 
Slims  as  I  have  not  mentioned,  however,  may  In 
told  in  a  very  few  words. 

The  usual  dinner-hour  is  two  o'clock.  A  din 
tier  party  takes  place  at  five  ;  and  at  an  evening 
party,  they  sehiom  sup  later  than  eleven ;  so 
that  it  goes  bard  hut  one  get  home,  even  from  x 
Tout,  hy  midnight.  I  never  could  find  out  any 
difference  hetween  a  party  at  Boston  and  a  par 
ty  in  London,  saving  tliat  at  the  former  plaiu' 
sll  assemblies  are  held  at  more  rational  hours  : 
that  the  conversation  may  possilily  be  a  liitli 
f 'tt'der  and  more  cheerful ;  that  a  guest  is  usuall> 
expected  to  ascend  to  the  very  tup  of  the  house 
to  take  his  cloak  off;  that  lie  is  certain  to  set- 
at  every  dinner  an  unusual  amount  of  poultry 
on  the  table  ;  and  at  every  supper,  at  least  two 
mighty  bowls  of  hut  stewed  oyi>ters,  in  any  on<i 
of  which  a  half  grown  Duke  of  Clarence  might 
be  smothered  easily. 

There  are  two  theatres  in  Boston,  of  good  size 
and  r^mstniction,  but  sadly  in  want  of  patron- 
age. The  few  ladies  who  r«>sort  to  them  sit,  as 
of  right,  in  the  fnint  rows  of  tl>e  boxes. 

There  is  no  smoking- rcMim  in  any  hotel,  and 
there  was  none  t^insequently  in  oars ;  but  the 
bar  is  a  large  room  with  a  Mone  floor,  and  therr 
people  stand  and  smoke,  and  lounge  about,  all 
the  evening :  dropping  in  and  out  as  the  humour 
takes  them.  There,  too.  the  stranger  is  initia- 
ted innt  the  mysteries  of  Oin-sling,  Cocktail.  San- 
Saree,  Mint  Julep,  Sherry- eohhier.  Timber  Doo- 
le,  and  other  rare  drinks.  The  hou#e  is  full  ol 
boarders,  both  married  and  shigle,  many  of  whom 
feleep  up«in  the  premises,  and  contract  by  the 
week  for  their  iMtard  and  lodging:  the  charge 
tar  which  diminishes  as  they  go  nearer  the  sky 
to  roost.  A  public  table  is  laid  in  a  very  haml- 
«ome  hall  for  breakfast,  and  for  dinner,  and  for 
•upper.  The  party  sitting  down  together  ti»  these 
meals  will  vary  in  number  from  one  to  two  hun- 
dred :  sometimes  more.  The  advent  of  each  ol 
these  epochs  in  the  day  is  proclaimed  by  an  aw- 
ful gong,  which  shakes  the  very  window  frames 
as  it  reverberates  through  the  house,  and  horri- 
bly disturbs  nervous  foreigners.  There  is  an 
ordinary  for  ladies,  and  an  ordinary  for  gentle- 
men. 

In  our  private  room  the  cloth  cnnid  not,  for 
any  earthly  cimsideiation,  have  been  laid  foi 
dinner  without  a  huge  glass  dish  of  craiiherri(.> 
in  the  middle  of  the  lahle  ;  and  tireakfast  wouhl 
liave  been  no  breakfast  unless  tlie  principal  A\k\\ 
M'ere  a  delormed  beefsteak  with  a  great  flat  iMine 
tn  the  centre,  swimming  in  hot  butter,  and  sprink- 
led with  the  very  blackest  of  alt  possible  (lepiier 
Our  bedroom  was  spacious  and  airy,  hut  (like  ev- 
ery ht'drtHtm  on  this  .  ide  of  the  Atlantic)  very 
bare  of  furniture,  having  nu  curtains  to  the 


French  bedstead  or  lo  the  window.  It  had  one 
imu-ual  luxury,  however,  in  tlie  shape  of  a 
vvardnihe  of  painted  wood,  something  smaller 
ban  an  Enjilish  watchhox  :  or,  if  this  compar- 
"on  be  insufficient  to  convey  a  just  idea  of  its 
limen-tions,  they  may  be  estimated  from  the 
act  of  my  having  lived  for  fourteen  days  and 
I'glits  in  the  firm  belief  that  it  was  a  shower- 
>aib. 


.t^.-?i 


CHAPTEll  IV. 


FAO« 


AN  AMBRICAN   KAIUROAO.       LOWBLL  AND   ITS 
TOKV  8Y8TBM. 

BBroRB  leaving  Boston,  I  devoted  one  day  to 
an  excursion  to  I.rf>well.  I  assign  a  separate 
chapter  to  this  visit ;  not  because  I  am  about 
to  describe  it  at  any  great  length,  hut  because  I 
vemember  it  as  a  thing  hy  itself,  and  am  desirous 
ihat  my  readers  should  do  the  same. 

I  made  acqudintanue  with  an  American  rail- 
road, on  this  occasion,  for  the  first  time.  As 
these  works  are  pretty  much  alike  all  through 
ihe  States,  their  general  characteristics  are  ea- 
sily dei«crihed. 

There  are  no  first  and  second  class  carriages 
as  with  us  ;  but  there  is  a  gentlemen's  car  and 
a  ladies'  car;  the  main  distmction  between 
which  is  that  in  the  first,  everybody  smokes ; 
and  in  the  second,  nuboiiy  does.  As  a  blai^k 
man  never  travels  with  a  white  one,  there  is 
also  a  negro  car ;  which  is  a  great  blundering 
clumsy  chest,  such  as  Gulliver  put  to  sea  in, 
from  the  kingdom  of  Brnbdignag.  There  is  a 
ureat  deal  of  jolting,  a  great  deal  of  noise,  a  great 
de.il  of  wall,  not  much  window,  a  locomotive 
engine,  a  shriek,  and  a  hell. 

The  cars  are  like  shabby  oranibnsses,  hot 
larger;  holding  thirty,  forty,  fifty,  people.  Th^ 
seats,  instead  of  stretching  from  end  (o  end,  are 
placed  crosswise.  Each  seat  holds  two  per- 
sons. Tliere  is  a  long  row  of  them  on  each  aid* 
of  the  caravan,  a  narrow  passage  up  the  middle^ 
and  a  door  at  both  ends.  In  the  centre  of  the 
carriage  there  is  usually  a  stove,  fed  with  char- 
coal or  anthracite  coal ;  which  is  for  the  most 
part  red-hot.  It  is  insufferably  close ;  and  yoa 
see  the  hot  air  fluttering  between  yourself  and 
any  other  object  you  may  happen  to  look  at,  lik« 
the  ghost  of  smoke. 

In  the  ladies'  car,  there  are  a  great  many  gen- 
tlemen who  have  ladies  with  them.  I'here  are 
also  a  great  many  ladies  who  have  nobody  with 
them ;  for  any  lady  may  travel  alone,  from  ona 
end  of  the  United  States  to  the  other,  and  he  cer- 
tain of  the  most  courteous  and  considerate  treat- 
luent  everywhere.  The  conductor  or  check- 
taker,  or  guard,  or  whatever  he  may  he,  wears 
nu  uniform.  He  walks  up  and  down  the  car, 
iiid  in  and  out  of  it,  as  his  fancy  dictates ;  leans 
against  the  d«>or  with  his  hands  in  his  fMickets 
diid  stares  at  you,  if  you  chance  to  be  a  stran- 
ger ;  or  enters  into  couversatioii  with  the  pas- 
sengers about  him  A  great  many  newspapers 
arc  pulled  out,  and  a  lew  of  them  are  read. 
iiveryb«Kly  talks  to  you,  or  to  anybody  else  who 
iiits  his  fancy.  If  you  are  an  Englishman,  he 
>;xpecls  that  that  railroad  is  pretty  much  like 
.111  bliiKlish  railroad.  If  you  say  "No,"  he  says 
"  y«sT"  (interrogatively,)  and  asks  in  what  re- 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


w.  It  had  one 
le  sliape  of  a 
ething  smaller 
if  this  eompar- 
just  idra  nf  its 
lated  from  the 
teen  days  and 
was  a  shower- 


.L.  AND  ITS    FAO* 

oted  one  day  to 
sign  a  separate 
use  I  am  about 
h,  but  because  I 
and  am  desirous 
ame. 

American  rail- 
first  time.    As 
like  all  through 
iteristics  are  ea- 

I  class  carriages 
Jemen's  car  and 
notion  between 
rybody  smokes  ; 
ea.  As  a  blaitk 
ite  one,  there  is 
rreat  blundering 
r  put  to  sea  in, 
lag.  There  is  a 
ilufnoiBe,agreat 
)W,  a  locomotive 

oronlbnsses,  bat 
%y,  people.  Tht 
n  end  to  end,  are 
,  holds  two  per- 
hem  on  each  sidt 
ge  up  the  middle, 
the  centre  of  the 
re,  fed  with  char* 
1  is  for  the  moat 
IT  close;  andyoe 
reen  yourself  and 
en  to  look  at,  like 

;  great  many  gen- 
tiem.  I'here  are 
tave  nobody  with 
I  alone,  from  one 
other,  and  be  cer< 
;onsiderate  treat- 
luctnr  or  check- 
le  may  be,  wears 
d  down  the  car, 
y  dictates ;  leans 
ils  in  Iii8  pockets 
ce  to  be  a  stran- 
un  with  the  pas- 
iiany  newspapers 

tliem  are  read, 
inybtidy  else  who 
1  Eiiglishiuaii,  he 
[)retty  much  like 
y  "  No,"  he  saya 

asks  in  what  re- 


spect they  differ.  You  enumerate  the  heads  of 
difference,  one  by  one,  and  he  says  "Yes!" 
(still  interrogatively)  to  each.  Then  he  guesses 
that  you  d«m'l  travel  faster  in  England  ;  and  on 
your  replying  that  you  d«»,  says  "  YfsV*  again 
(still  interrogatively),  and,  it  is  quite  evident, 
don't  believe  it.  After  a  long  pause  he  remarks, 
partly  to  you,  and  partly  to  the  knob  on  the  top 
of  his  stick,  that  *'  Yankees  are  reckoned  to  be 
considerable  of  a  go  ahead  people  too ;"  upon 
which  y«)u  say  "  Yes,"  and  then  he  says  "  Yes  " 
again  (affirmatively  this  time) ;  and  upon  your 
looking  out  of  window,  tells  you  that  behind 
that  hill,  and  some  three  miles  from  the  next 
station,  there  is  a  clever  town  in  a  smart  lo-ca- 
tion,  where  he  expects  you  have  con-eluded  to 
stop.  Your  answer  in  the  negative  naturally 
leads  to  more  questions  in  reference  to  your  in- 
tended route  (always  pronounced '  rout) ;  and 
wherever  you  are  going,  you  invariably  learn 
that  you  can't  get  there  without  immense  diffi- 
culty and  danger,  and  that  all  the  great  sights 
are  somewhere  else. 

II  a  lady  take  a  fancy  to  any  male  passenger's 
seat,  the  gentleman  who  accompanies  her  gives 
him  notice  of  the  fact,  and  he  immediately  va- 
cates it  with  great  politeness.  Politics  are 
much  discussed,  so  are  banks,  so  is  cotton. 
Quiet  people  avoid  the  question  of  the  Presi- 
dency, for  there  will  be  a  new  election  in  three 
year*  and  a  half,  and  party  feeling  runs  very 
high:  the  great  constitutional  feature  of  this 
institution  be^ng,  that  directly  the  acrimony  of 
the  last  election  is  over,  the  acrimony  of  the 
next  one  begins ;  which  is  an  unspeakable  com- 
fort to  all  strong  politicians  and  true  lovers  of 
their  country  :  that  is  to  say,  to  ninety-nine  men 
and  boys  out  of  every  ninety-nine  and  a  quarter. 

Except  when  a  branch  road  joins  the  main 
one,  there  is  seldom  more  than  one  track  of 
rails ;  so  that  the  road  is  very  narrow,  and  the 
view,  where  there  is  a  deep  cutting,  by  no  means 
extensive.  When  there  is  not,  the  character  ol 
the  scenery  is  always  the  same.  Mile  after 
mile  of  stunted  trees :  some  hewn  down  by  the 
axe,  some  blown  down  by  the  wind,  some  half 
fallen  and  resting  on  their  neighbours,  many 
mere  logs  half  hidden  in  the  swamp,  others 
mouldered  away  to  spongy  chips.  The  very  soil 
of  the  earth  is  made  up  of  minute  fragments 
such  as  these ;  each  pool  of  stagnant  water  has 
hs  crust  of  vegetable  rottenness;  on  every  side 
there  are  the  boughs,  and  trunks,  and  stumps  of 
trees,  in  every  possible  stage  of  decay,  decom- 
position, and  neglect.  Now  you  emerge  for  a 
few  brief  minutes  on  an  open  country,  glittering 
with  some  bright  lake  or  pool,  broad  as  many  an 
English  river,  but  so  small  here  that  it  scarcely 
has  a  name;  now  catch  hasty  glimpses  of  a  dis- 
tant town,  with  its  clean  white  houses  and  their 
cool  piazzas,  its  prim  New-England  church  and 
scUoolliuuse ;  when  whir-r-r-r !  almost  before 
you  have  seen  them,  comes  the  same  dark 
screen :  the  stunted  trees,  the  stumps,  the  logs, 
the  stagnant  water— all  so  like  the  last  that  you 
seem  to  have  been  transported  back  again  by 
magic. 

'llie  train  calls  at  stations  in  the  woods, 
where  the  wild  impossibility  of  anybody  having 
the  smallest  reason  to  get  out,  is  only  to  b^ 
equalled  by  the  apparently  desperate  hopelep^ 
ness  of  thure  being  anybody  to  get  in.    It  rushes 


across  the  turnpike  road,  where  there  Is  no  gate, 
no  policeman,  no  signal :  nothing  but  a  rough 
wooden  arch,  on  which  is  painted  "Whkn  thb 

BELL    RINSS,  LOOK    OUT    roR    TUB    LOOOMOTIVB." 

On  it  whirls  headlong,  dives  through  the  woods 
again,  emerges  in  the  light,  clatters  over  frail 
arches,  rumbles  upon  the  heavy  ground,  shoots 
beneath  a  wooden  bridge  which  intercepts  the 
light  for  a  second  like  a  wink,  sud  lenly  awakens 
all  the  slumbering  echoes  in  the  main  street  of 
a  large  town,  and  dashes  on  hap-hazard,  pell- 
mell,  neck  or  nothing,  down  the  middle  of  the 
road.  There — with  mechanics  working  at  their 
trades,  and  people  leaning  from  their  doors  and 
windows,  and  boys  flying  kites  and  playing  mar- 
bles, and  men  smoking,  and  women  talking,  and 
children  crawling,  and  pigs  burrowing,  and  un- 
accustomed horses  plunging  and  rearing,  close 
to  the  very  rails — ^there — on,  on,  on — tears  the 
mad  dragon  of  an  engine  with  its  train  of  cars ; 
scattering  in  all  directions  a  shower  of  burning 
sparks  from  its  wood  fire  ;  screeching,  hisring, 
yelling,  panting  :  until  at  last  the  thirsty  mon- 
ster stops  beneath  a  covered  way  to  drink,  the 
people  cluster  round,  and  you  have  time  to 
breathe  again. 

I  was  met  at  the  station  at  liowell  by  a  gen- 
tleman intimately  connected  with  the  manage- 
ment of  the  factories  there  ;  and  gladly  putting 
myself  under  his  guidance,  drove  off  at  once  to 
that  quarter  of  the  town  in  which  the  works, 
the  object  of  my  visit,  were  situated.  Although 
only  just  of  age — for  if  my  recollection  serve  , 
me,  it  has  been  a  manufacturing  town  barely 
one-and-twenty  years — Lowell  is  a  large,  popu- 
lous, thriving  place.  Those  indications  of  its 
youth  which  first  attract  the  eye,  give  it  a 
quaintness  and  oddity  of  character  which,  to  a 
visiter  from  the  old  country,  ifi  amusing  enough. 
It  was  a  very  dirty  winter's  day,  and  nothing  in 
the  whole  town  looked  old  to  me,  except  the 
mud,  which  in  some  parts  was  almost  knee- 
deep,  and  might  have  been  deposited  there  on 
the  subekiing  of  the  waters  after  the  Deluge. 
In  one  place,  there  was  a  new  wooden  church, 
which,  having  no  steeple,  and  being  yet  unpaint- 
ed,  looked  like  an  enormous  packing-case  with- 
out any  direction  upon  it.  In  another  there 
was  a  large  hotel,  whose  walls  and  colonnades; 
were  so  crisp,  and  thin,  and  slight,  that  it  had 
exactly  the  appearance  of  being  built  with  cards. 
I  was  careful  not  to  draw  my  breath  as  we  pass- 
ed, and  trembled  when  I  saw  a  workman  come 
out  upon  the  roof,  lest  with  one  thoughtless 
stamp  of  his  foot  he  should  crush  the  structure 
beneath  him,  and  bring  it  rattling  down.  The 
very  river  that  moves  the  machinery  in  the 
mills  (fur  they  are  all  worked  by  water  power), 
seems  to  acquire  a  new  character  from  the  fresh 
buildings  of  bright  red  brick  and  painted  wood 
among  which  it  takes  its  course ;  and  to  be  as 
light-headed,  thoughtless,  and  brisk  a  young 
river,  in  its  murmurings  a^^d  tumblings,  as  one 
would  desire  to  see.  One  would  swear  that 
every  "  Bakery,"  "  Grocery,"  and  "  Bookbind- 
ery,''  and  other  kind  of  store,  took  its  shutters 
down  for  the  first  time,  and  started  in  business 
yesterday.  The  golden  pestles  and  mortars 
fixed  as  signs  up<m  the  sun  blind  frames  outside 
the  druggist's,  appear  to  have  been  just  turned 
out  of  Uie  United  States'  Mint ;  and  when  I 
saw  a  baby  of  some  week  or  ten  days  old  in  • 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


}  I 


woman's  amis  at  a  street  comer,  I  fimnd  my- 
self unc4)n8cioiwly  wondering  where  it  came 
from  :  never  supposing  for  an  instant  that  ii 
could  have  been  iiorn  ir.  such  a  young  town  as 
that. 

There  are  several  factories  in  Ix>weU,  each 
of  which  belongs  to  what  we  should  term  a 
Company  of  Pn>prietors,  but  what  they  call  in 
America  a  corporation.  I  went  over  several  of 
these ;  such  as  a  woollen  factory,  a  carpet  fac- 
tory, and  a  cotton  factory  :  examined  them  in 
every  part;  and  saw  them  in  their  ordinary 
working  aspect,  with  no  preparation  of  any  kind, 
or  departure  froui  their  ordinary  every-day  pro- 
veedmgs.  I  may  add  that  I  am  well  acquainted 
with  i»ur  manufacturing  towns  in  England,  and 
have  visited  many  mills  in  Mancliester  and  else 
where  in  the  same  manner. 

I  happened  to  arrive  at  the  first  factory  just 
as  the  dinner-hour  was  over,  and  the  girls  were 
retiiriiiiig  to  their  work ;  indeed,  the  stairs  of 
the  mill  were  thronged  with  thi  m  as  I  ascend- 
ed. I'hey  were  all  well-dressed,  but  not  to  my 
thinking  above  their  condition  :  for  I  like  to  see 
the  liumhler  classes  of  society  careful  of  their 
dress  and  appearantre,  and  even,  if  they  please, 
decorated  with  such  little  trinkets  as  come  with- 
in the  compass  of  their  means.  Supposing  it 
confined  within  reasonable  limits,  I  would  al 
ways  encourage  this  kind  of  pride,  as  a  worthy 
element  of  self-respect,  in  any  person  I  employ- 
ed ;  and  should  no  more  be  deterred  from  doing 
so,  Iteuause  some  wretched  female  referred  her 
'  fall  to  a  love  of  dress,  than  I  would  alltiw  my 
con.si  ruction  of  the  real  intent  and  meaning  of 
the  Sabbath  to  be  inHurneed  by  any  warning  to 
the  well-disposed,  foimded  on  his  backslidin^s 
on  that  particular  day,  which  might  emantt' 
from  the  rather  doabtl'ul  authority  of  a  murderer 
in  Newgate. 

I'hesu  girls,  as  I  have  said,  were  all  well 
dressed  :  anil  that  plirase  necessarily  includes 
extreme  rIeanlmesB.  They  had  servicea  le  bon- 
nets, g<NKl  wario  cloaks,  and  shawls  ;  and  were 
not  al>ove  clogs  and  pattens  Moreover,  there 
were  places  in  the  mill  in  which  they  could  de- 
posite  tbeiie  thi.igs  without  injury ;  and  there 
were  cimveniences  for  washing.  They  were 
healthy  in  appearance,  many  of  them  remarka- 
bly so,  and  had  tho  manners  and  deportment  of 
young  women :  not  of  degraded  brutes  of  bur- 
den. If  I  had  seen  in  one  of  those  mills  (but  I 
did  not,  though  I  looked  for  8«>mething  of  this 
kind  with  a  sharp  eye),  the  moat  lispmg,  min- 
cing, affected,  and  ridiculous  young  creature 
tliat  my  imagination  coulJ  suggest,  I  should 
have  tliouglit  of  the  careless,  moping,  slatternly, 
degraded,  dull  reverse  (I  have  seen  that),  and 
should  have  been  still  well  pleased  to  lo«tk  upon 
her. 

The  ro<»ni8  in  which  they  worked  were  as 
well  ordered  as  themselves.  In  the  windows 
ol  some  there  were  green  plants,  which  were 
trained  to  almde  the  glass  ;  in  all,  there  was  as 
iiiiicli  freHli  air,  cleaidiness,  and  conilort  as  the 
iirUine  of  the  oecupation  would  posrihiy  admit 
(»r.  Out  of  su  large  a  number  of  females,  many 
of  wliMo  were  only  then  just  verging  upon  wom- 
aniiiiol.  it  may  be  reasonably  supfHtsed  that 
soioK  were  dHiuate  and  fragile  in  appearance  : 
no  *loiibi  there  were.  But  I  solemnly  declare, 
Uiat  from  all  the  crowd  I  saw  ia  the  different 


factories  that  day,  I  cannot  rmall  or  aeparato 
one  young  face  that  gave  me  a  painf  il  impres- 
sion ;  not  one  young  girl  whom,  iiSboming  it  to 
be  matter  of  necessity  that  she  shtnild  gain  her 
daily  bread  by  the  labour  of  her  hands,  I  would 
have  removed  from  those  works  if  I  had  had  the 
power. 

They  reside  at  various  boarding  houses  near 
at  hand.  The  owners  of  the  milb  are  particu- 
larly careful  to  allow  no  persons  to  enter  u|ion 
the  possession  of  these  houses,  whose  charac- 
ters have  not  undergone  the  most  searching  and 
thorough  inquiry  Any  complaint  that  is  made 
against  them  by  the  boarders  or  by  anybody  e.se, 
is  fully  investigated ;  and  if  good  ground  of 
complaint  be  shown  to^exist  against  them,  they 
are  removed,  and  thehr  occupation  is  handed 
over  to  some  more  deserving  person.  There 
are  a  few  children  employed  in  these  factories, 
but  not  many.  The  laws  of  the  state  forbid 
their  working  more  than  nine  months  in  tiie 
year,  and  require  that  they  be  educated  duriiis; 
the  other  three.  For  this  purpose  there  are 
schools  in  Lowell ;  and  there  are  churches  and 
chapels  of  various  persuasions,  in  which  the 
young  women  may  oliserve  that  form  of  worship 
in  which  they  have  been  educated. 

At  some  distance  from  the  factories,  and  on 
the  highest  and  pleasantest  ground  ii.  the  neigh- 
bourhood, stands  their  hospital,  or  boarding- 
house  for  the  sick  :  it  is  the  best  house  in  those 
parts,  and  was  built  by  an  eminent  merchant 
for  his  own  residence.  Like  that  institution  a. 
Boston  which  I  have  before  described,  it  is  not 
parcelled  out  into  wards,  hut  is  divided  into  con- 
venient chambers,  each  of  which  has  all  the 
comforts  of  a  very  comfortable  home.  The 
principal  medical  attendant  resides  under  the 
same  roof;  and  were  the  patients  members  o( 
his  own  family,  they  could  not  be  better  care  I 
for,  or  attended  with  greater  gentleness  and 
consideration.  The  weekly  charge  in  this  es- 
tablishment for  each  patient  is  three  dollars,  or 
twelve  shillings  English  ;  but  no  girl  employed 
'  y  any  of  the  corporations  is  ever  excluded  for 
w  ant  of  the  means  of  payment.  That  they  do 
not  very  often  want  the  means,  may  he  gatui-:? 
ed  from  the  fact,  that  in  July,  1841,  no  fewer 
than  nine  hundred  and  seventy-eight  of  Uiese 
girls  were  depositors  in  the  Ix>well  Savings 
Bank :  the  amount  of  whose  joint  savings  was 
estimated  at  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  or 
twenty  thousand  English  pounds. 

I  am  now  going  to  state  three  facts,  which 
will  startle  a  large  class  of  readers  on  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic,  very  much. 

Firstly,  there  is  a  joint-stock  piano  in  a  great 
many  of  the  boarding-houses.  Secondly,  near* 
ly  all  these  young  ladies  subscribe  to  circula- 
ting libraries.  Thirdly,  they  have  got  up  among 
themselves  a  periodical  called  'I'hk  Lowell  Op- 
HBBiNO,  "A  repository  of  original  articles,  writ- 
ten exclusively  by  females  actively  employed  in 
the  mills,"  which  is  duly  printed,  published, 
and  sold ;  and  whereof  I  brought  away  from 
Lowell  four  hundred  good  solid  pages,  which  I 
ha^e  read  from  beginning  to  end. 

The  large  class  of  readers,  startled  by  these 
facts,  wUI  exclaim,  witii  one  voice,  "  How  very 
preposterous  !"  On  my  deferentially  inquiring 
why,  they  will  answer,  "These  things  are 
above  their  station."  In  reply  to  that  objec- 
tion, I  would  beg  to  ask  what  their  station  is. 


It  is  t 
work.    T 
erage,  twi 
ably  worli 
it  is  abo 
amuseme 
that  we  i 
of  the  "  SI 
toming  01 
class  as  tl 
think  that 
shall  find 
libraries, 
us  by  the 
upon  any 
For  my 
oecupatio 
occupatioi 
any  one  c 
ing  and  la 
rendered  i 
more  safe 
norance  f 
which  hai 
mutual  in 
entertaini 
to  be  a  sti 
Of  the 
literary  pi 
entirely  oi 
ng  been ' 
us  laboui 
antageou 
s.     It  il 
ales  are 
lem;  thi 
nd  conte 
nhirged  t 
uties  ( 
e  writei 
page* 
lUgh  a 
huol  foi 
uty  all 
ine  hous( 
tject  to 
ith  rath 
fashion, 
latnre 
tames  in 
HTove  upc 
ihanges  c 
innes  ai 
(very  ses 
It  issa 
eneral 
;own  (I  i 
ose),  he 
>f  these : 
tsols  ani 
ware  thi 
sudden 
ilk  stoel 
ankrupt 
ho  bouj 
tion  of 
real  sto 
in  thia 
uate  ex 
le,  and  « 
horn  Ih 
i^ubjeut 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


veall  or  wparato 
a  painfil  iinpres- 
0).  <>6Mimirig  it  to 
I  sbtnild  gain  her 
r  haiKis,  I  would 
a  if  1  had  had  the 

ding  bouses  near 

milk  are  particu- 

tns  to  enter  upon 

whose  cbarao- 

ost  searching  and 

aint  that  is  made 

r  by  anybody  e.^e, 

good  ground  of 

gainst  them,  they 

pation  is  handed 

_  person.    There 

n  these  factories, 

'  the  state  forbid 

e  months  in  ttie 

educated  duritii; 

Hirpose  there  are 

are  churches  and 

ns,  in  whicli  the 

It  form  of  worship 

ated. 

factories,  and  on 
ound  it.  the  neigh- 
ital,  or  boardiiig- 
est  house  in  those 
iminent  merchant 
that  institution  a. 
escribed,  it  is  not 
s  divided  into  con- 
^hich  has  all  the 
able  home.  The 
resides  under  the 
tients  members  of 
>t  be  better  care  I 
sr  gentleness  and 
charge  in  this  eis- 
B  three  dollars,  or 
t  no  girl  employed 
ever  excluded  for 
nt.  That  they  do 
[)s,  may  he  gatiitr 
ly,  1841,  no  fewer 
nty-eight  of  ttiese 
9  Ijowell  Savings 
joint  savings  was 
ousand  dollars,  or 
nds. 

,hree  facts,  which 
saders  on  this  side 

:k  piano  in  a  great 
Secondly,  noar- 
isoribe  to  circiila- 
lave  got  up  among 
I  Thk  Lowell  Op- 
inal  articles,  writ- 
tively  employed  in 
irinied,  published, 
ought  away  from 
lid  pages,  which  I 
end. 

,  startled  by  these 
voice, "  How  very 
rentially  inquiring 
rhese  things  are 
ply  to  that  objeo* 
tliur  station  is. 


It  is  their  station  to  work.  And  they  do 
^ork.  They  labour  in  these  mills,  upon  an  av- 
erage, twelve  hours  a  day,  which  ia  unquestion 
ably  work,  and  pretty  tight  work  too.  Perhaps 
it  is  above  their  station  to  indulge  in  such 
amusements,  on  any  terms.  Are  we  quite  sure 
(hat  we  in  England  have  not  formed  our  ideas 
of  the  "  station"  of  working  peop*e,  from  accus- 
toming ourselves  to  the  contemplation  of  that 
class  as  they  are,  and  not  as  they  might  be  1  I 
think  that  if  we  examine  our  own  feelings,  we 
hall  find  that  the  pianos,  and  the  circulating- 
libraries,  and  even  the  Lowell  Otfering,  startle 
us  by  their  novelty,  and  not  by  their  bearing 
upon  any  abstract  question  of  right  or  wrong. 

For  myself,  I  know  no  station  in  which,  the 
occupation  of  to-day  cheerfully  done  and  the 
occupation  of  to-morrow  cheerfully  looked  to, 
any  one  of  these  pursuits  is  nut  most  humaniz- 
ing and  laudable.     I  know  no  station  which  is 
rendered  more  endurable  to  the  person  in  it,  or 
more  safe  to  the  person  out  of  it.  by  tiaving  ig- 
norance for  its  associate.    I  know  no  station 
which  has  a  right  to  monopolize  the  means  of 
mutual  instruction,  improvement,  and  rational 
entertainment ;  or  which  has  ever  continued 
to  be  a  station  very  long,  after  seeking  to  do  so. 
Of  the  merits  of  the  Lowell  Offering  as  a 
literary  production,  I  will  only  «)bserve,  putting 
entirely  out  of  sight  the  fact  of  the  articles  hav- 
ing been  written  by  these  girls  aflcr  the  ardu- 
ous labours  of  the  day,  that  it  will  compare  ad- 
vantageously with  a  great  many  English  Annu- 
ls.   It  is  pleasant  to  find  that  many  of  its 
'ales  are  of  the  Mills  and  of  those  who  work  in 
lem ;  that  they  inculcate  habits  of  self-denial 
nd  contentment,  and  teach  good  doctrines  of 
nUirgcd  benevolence.    A  strong  feeling  for  the 
uties  ol  nature,  as  displayed  in  the  solitudes 
le  writers  have  left  at  home,  breathes  through 
pages   like   wholesome  village  air;   and 
igh  a  circulating  library  is  a  favourable 
pcbool  for  the  study  of  such  topics,  it  has  very 
;uty  allusion  to  fine  clothes,  fine  marriages, 
ne  h(»uses,  or  fine  life.    Some  persons  mtight 
iject  to  the  papers  being  signed  occasionally 
vitli  rather  fine  names,  but  this  is  an  American 
ashion.    One  of  the  provinces  of  the  state  le- 
[islatore  of  Massachusetts  is   to  alter  ugly 
tames  into  pretty  ones,  as  the  children  ioi- 
NTuve  upon  the  tastes  of  their  parents.    'Iliese 
)hanges  costing  little  or  nothing,  scores  of  Mary 
Vnnes  are  solemnly  converted  into  Bevelinas 
ivery  session. 
It  is  said  that  on  the  occasion  of  a  visit  from 
eneral  Jackson  or  General  Harrison  to  this 
;own  (I  forget  which,  but  it  is  not  to  the  pur- 
ose),  he  walked  through  three  miles  and  a  half 
if  these  young  ladies,  all  dressed  out  with  par- 
ols  and  silk  stockings.     Ilut  as  I  am  not 
.ware  that  any  worse  consequence  ensued,  than 
sudden  luoking-un  of  all  the  parasols  and 
ilk  stockings  in  tht  market ;  and  perhaps  the 
ankrupttry  of  some  speculative  New-Englander 
ho  bought  them  all  up  at  ope  price,  in  expect 
ition  of  a  demand  that  never  came ;  I  set  no 
reat  store  by  the  circumstance. 
In  this  brief  account  of  Lowell,  and  inade- 
lUale  expresbion  of  the  gratification  it  yielded 
lie,  and  cannot  fail  to  afford  to  any  foreigner  to 
bom  the  condition  of  such  people  at  home  is 
ubject  of  interetit  and  anxiouti  speculation,  i 


have  carefully  abstained  from  drawing  a  com* 
parison  between  these  factories  and  those  of 
our  own  land.  Mary  of  the  circumstances 
whose  strong  influence  has  been  at  work  for 
yrars  in  our  manufacturing  towns  have  not 
arisen  here ;  and  there  is  no  manufacturing 
population  in  I.owell,  so  to  speak:  for  these 
girls  (often  the  daughters  of  small  farmers) 
come  from  other  states,  remain  a  few  years  in 
the  mills,  and  then  go  home  for  good. 

The,  contrast  would  be  a  strong  one,  for  it 
would  be  between  the  Good  and  Evil,  the  living 
light  and  deepest  shadow.  I  abstain  from  it, 
because  I  deem  it  just  to  do  so.  But  I  only  the 
more  earnestly  adjure  all  those  whose  eyes  may 
rest  on  these  pages,  to  pause  and  reflect  upoa 
the  difference  between  this  town  aud  those 
great  haunts  of  desperate  misery :  to  call  to 
mind,  if  they  can  in  the  midst  of  party  strife  and 
squabble,  the  eflTorts  that  must  be  made  to  purge 
them  of  their  sufiering  and  danger :  and  last, 
and  foremost,  to  remember  how  the  precious 
Time  is  rushing  by. 

1  returned  at  night  by  the  same  railroad  and 
in  the  same  kind  of  car.  One  of  the  passengers 
being  exceedingly  anxious  to  expound  at  great 
length  to  my  companion  (not  to  me,  of  course) 
the  true  principles  on  which  books  of  travel  in 
America  should  be  written  by  Englishmen,  I 
lieigned  to  f  '1  asleep.  But  glancing  all  the  way 
out  at  winuow  from  the  corners  of  my  eyes,  I 
found  abundance  of  entertainment  for  the  rest 
of  the  ride  in  watching  the  effects  of  the  w«mm1 
fire,  which  had  been  invisible  in  the  morning, 
but  were  now  brought  out  in  full  relief  by  the 
darkness:  for  we  were  travelling  in  a  whirl- 
wind of  bright  sparks,  which  showered  about  ua 
like  a  storm  of  fiery  snow. 


CHAPTER  V. 

WORCESTER. — THE  CONNECTICOT  RIVER. — HART* 
rORD HEW-HAVEN. — TO  NEW-TORK. 

Leaving  Boston  on  the  afternoon  of  Satunlay^ 
the  fil.h  of  February,  we  proceeded  by  another 
railroad  to  Worcester:  a  pretty  New-Elnglawl 
town,  where  we  had  arranged  to  remain  under 
the  hospitable  roof  of  the  governor  of  the  state 
until  Monday  morning. 

These  towns  and  cines  of  New-England  (nuiajr 
of  which  would  be  villages  in  (^d  England),  are 
as  favourable  specimens  of  rural  America,  as 
their  people  are  of  rural  Americans.  The  well* 
trimmed  lawns  and  green  meadows  of  home  are 
not  there ;  and  the  gra.ss,  compared  with  our  or* 
namental  plots  and  pastures,  is  rank,  and  rotigh, 
and  wild :  but  delicate  slope,s  of  land,  gently- 
swelling  hills,  wooded  valleys,  and  slender 
streams  abound.  Every  little  colony  of  houses 
has  its  church  and  school-house  peeping  from 
among  tlie  white  roofs  and  shady  tiees;  every 
house  is  the  whitest  of  the  white ;  every  Vene- 
tian blind  the  greenest  of  the  green;  every  fine 
day's  sky  the  bluest  of  the  blue.  A  sharp,  dry 
wind  and  a  .slight  frost  had  .so  hardened  the  roads 
when  wc  alij,'htcJ  at  Worcester,  that  their  fur- 
rowed tracks  were  like  ridges  o(  gr.nnite.  There 
was  the  usual  aspect  of  newness  on  every  object, 
of  course.  All  the  building  looked  as  if  they 
had  been  built  and  p.iinteU  that  momin?,  and 
could  be  taken  down  on  Monday  with  veiy  little 
trouble.    In  the  keen  evening  air,  every  sharp 


NOTES  ON  AHEXICA. 


I' 

in 

m 


III 


outline  looked  a  hundred  times  sharper  than 
e<rer.  The  clean,  cardboard  colonnades  had  no 
more  perspective  than  a  Chinese  bridge  on  a 
teacup,  and  appeared  etjually  well  calculated  for 
ONe.  The  razor-like  edges  of  the  detached  cot- 
tages seemed  to  cut  the  very  wind  as  it  whistled 
against  them,  and  to  send  it  smarting  on  its  way 
with  a  shriller  cry  than  before.  Those  slightly- 
built  wooden  dwellings,  behind  which  the  sun  was 
setting  with  a  brilliant  lustre,  could  be  so  looked 
through  and  through,  that  the  idea  of  any  inhab- 
itant being  able  to  hide  himself  fh>m  the  public 
gaze,  or  to  have  any  secrets  from  the  public  eye, 
was  not  entertainable  for  a  moment.  Even  where 
ablazii^  fire  shone  through  the  uncurtained  win- 
dows ofsome  distant  house,  it  had  the  air  of  be- 
ing newly-lighted,  and  of  lacking  warmth ;  and 
instead  of  awakening  thoughts  of  a  snug  chamber 
bright  with  faces  that  first  saw  the  light  round 
that  same  hearth,  and  ruddy  with  warm  hang- 
ings, ii  came  upon  one  suggestive  with  the  smell 
of  new  mortar  and  damp  walls. 

So  I  thought,  at  least,  that  evening.  Next 
morning,  when  the  sun  was  shining  brightly,  and 
the  clear  church  bells  were  ringing,  and  sedate 
people  in  their  best  clothes  enlivened  the  path- 
way near  at  hand,  and  dotted  the  distant  thread 
of  road,  there  was  a  pleasant  Sabbath  peticeful- 
ness  on  everything,  which  it  was  good  to  feel. 
It  would  have  been  better  for  an  old  church ;  bel- 
ter still  for  some  old  graves;  but  as  it  was,  a 
wholesome  repose  and  tranquillity  pervaded  the 
scene,  which,  ailer  the  re^tIe.ss  ocean  and  the 
hurried  city,  had  a  doubly  grateful  influence  on 
the  spirits. 

W«  went  on  next  morning,  still  by  railroad, 
to  Springfield.  From  that  ])lace  to  Hartford, 
whither  we  were  bound,  is  a  distance  of  only 
five-and-twenty  miles,  but  at  that  time  of  the 
year  the  roads  were  so  bad  thht  the  journey 
would  probably  have  occupied  ten  or  twelve 
hours.  Fortunately,  however,  the  winter  having 
been  unusually  mild,  the  Connecticut  River  was 
** open,"  or,  in  other  words,  not  frozen.  The  cap- 
tain of  a  small  steamboat  was  going  to  make  his 
first  trip  for  the  season  that  day  (the  second  Feb- 
ruary trip,  I  believe,  within  the  memory  of  man  V 
and  only  waited  for  us  to  go  on  board.'  i^ccora- 
inglv,  we  went  on  board,  with  as  little  delay  as 
might  be.  He  was  as  good  as  his  word,  and 
started  directly. 

It  certainly  was  not  called  a  small  steamboat 
without  reason.  I  omitted  to  ask  the  question, 
but  i  should  think  it  must  have  been  of  about 
half  a  pony  power.  Mr.  Paap,  the  celebrated 
dwarf,  might  nave  lived  and  died  happily  in  the 
cabin,  which  was  fitted  with  common  sash-win- 
dows like  an  ordinary  dwelling-house.  These 
windows  had  bright  red  curtains,  too,  hung  on 
slack  strings  across  the  lower  panes ;  so  thst  it 
looked  like  the  parlour  of  a  lilliputian  public- 
house,  which  had  got  afloat  in  a  flood,  or  some 
other  water  accident,  and  was  drifting  nobody 
knew  where.  But  even  in  this  chamber  there  was 
a  rocking-chair.  It  would  be  impossible  to  eet  on 
anywhere  in  America  without  a  rockinechair. 

I  am  afraid  to  tell  how  many  feet  short  this 
vessel  was,  or  how  many  feet  narrow:  to  apply 
the  words  length  and  width  to  such  measure- 
ment would  be  a  contradiction  in  terms.  But  I 
may  state  that  we  all  kept  the  middle  of  the 
deck,  lest  the  boat  should  unexp^ctpdly  tip  over; 
and  that  the  machinery,  by  some  surprising  rro- 
cess  of  condensation,  worked  between  ii  nnd  the 
keel :  the  whole  forming  a  warm  sandwich,  about 
three  teet  thick. 


It  rained  all  day  as  I  once  thought  it  nerer  did 
rain  anywhere  but  in  the  Highland.s  of  Scotland. 
The  river  was  full  et  tloutii.g  blocks  of  ice, 
which  were  constantly  crunching  xnd  cracking 
under  us ;  and  the  depth  of  water,  in  the  cour.-<o 
we  took  to  avoid  the  lai^r  masses,  carried  down 
the  middle  of  the  river  by  the  cuirent,  did  not 
exceed  a  few  inches.  Nevertheless,  we  moved 
onward  d'^xteroudy ;  and,  being  well  wrapjed 
up,  bade  defiance  to  the  weather,  and  enjoyed 
the  journey.  The  Connecticut  hiver  i.s  a  fine 
stream ;  and  the  banks  in  summer-time,  are,  I 
have  no  doubt,  beautiful:  at  all  events,  1  was 
told  so  by  a  young  lady  in  the  cabin ;  and  she 
should  be  a  judge  of  beauty,  if  the  possession 
of  a  quality  include  the  appreciation  of  it,  for  a 
more  beautiful  creature  I  never  looked  upon. 

After  two  hours  and  a  half  of  this  odd  travel* 
ling  (including  a  stoppage  at  a  small  town .  where 
we  were  saluted  by  a.gun  considerably  bigger 
than  our  own  chimney),  we  reached  Hartford, 
and  straightway  repaired  to  an  extremely  com- 
fortable hotel :  except,  as  usual,  in  the  article  of 
bedrooms,  which,  in  almost  every  place  we  vis» 
ited,  were  very  conducive  to  early  rising. 

We  tarried  here  four  days.  The  town  is  beau- 
tifully situated  in  a  basin  of  green  hilU;  the  soil 
is  rich,  well-wooded,  and  carefully  improved. 
It  is  the  seat  of  the  local  legislature  of  Connecti- 
cut, which  sage  body  enacted  in  bygone  times,  the 
renowned  code  of  "Blue  Laws,"m  virtue  where- 
of, among  other  enlightened  provisions,  any  cit- 
izen who  could  be  proved  to  have  kissed  his 
wife  on  Sunday,  was  nunishable,  I  believe,  with 
the  stocks.  Too  much  of  the  old  Puritan  spirit 
exists  in  these  parts  to  the  present  hour ;  but  its 
influence  has  not  tended,  that  I  know,  to  make 
the  people  less  hard  in  their  bargains,  or  more 
equal  in  thpir  dealings.  As  I  never  heard  of  its 
working  that  effect  anywhere  else,  I  infer  that  it 
never  will  here.  Indeed,  I  am  accustomed,  with 
reference  to  great  professions  and  severe  faces,  to 
judge  of  the  goods  of  the  other  world  pretty 
much  as  I  judge  of  the  goods  of  this ;  and  when- 
ever I  see  a  dealer  in  such  commodities  with  too 
great  a  display  of  thern  in  his  window,  I  doubt 
the  quality  of  the  article  within. 

In  Hartford  stands  the  famous  oak  in  which 
the  charter  of  King  Charles  was  hidden.  It  is 
now  enclosed  in  a  gentleman's  garden.  In  the 
State  House  is  the  charter  itself.  I  found  the 
courts  of  law  here  just  the  same  as  at  Boston; 
the  puMic  institutions  almost  as  good.  The  In- 
sane ^syli:m  is  admirably  conducted,  and  so  is 
the  Institution  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb. 

I  very  much  qnesiioned  within  myself,  as  I 
walked  through  the  Insane  Asylum,  whether  I 
should  have  known  the  attendants  from  the  pa- 
tients, but  for  the  few  words  which  passed  be- 
tween the  former  and  the  doctor,  in  reference  to 
the  persons  under  their  charge.  Of  course  I 
limit  this  remark  merely  to  their  looks ;  for  the 
conversation  of  the  mad  people  was  mad  enongh. 

There  was  one  little  prim  old  lady,  of  very 
smiling  and  good-humoured  appearance,  who 
came  sidling  up  to  me  from  the  end  of  a  long 
passage,  and  with  a  courtesy  of  inexpressible 
condescension,  propounded  this  unaccouniabV 
inquiry: 

"  Does  PonieiVact  still  flourish,  Sir,  upon  the 
soilofFnglandl" 

"  He  does.  Ma'am,"  I  rejoined, 

"When  von  last  saw  him,  Sir,  he  was— ••  , 

"Well,  Ma'am,"  said  I,  "  extremely  well.  He 
beeec^  me  to  rre^ent  his  compliments.  I  never 
saw  him  looking  better." 


Itg.in;  lUd 
|t<ttely  relre 

'■  /  am  a 

I  (houg.i 
suspected 
Suid  !>o. 

"  It  is  ai 
Sir,  to  be  i 

"  1  shuul 

The  old 
skip,  smirl 
mast  extra 
itiUy  into  1 

In  anoti 
male  patie 
heated. 

"Well!' 
his  night-c 
arranged  it 

"Arrang 

«Why,t 
Ir  across  h 
York." 

••Ohrs 
ed.    For  h 

"Yoi.    J 
6  ed  upon 
be  done  to 
that  want  t 

ey'll  hav( 

fc-ven  wl 
bought,  to 
ncoiieient. 
lay  down  s 
red  Ills  hu 

These  w 

ess  was  U 

ccordion 

(fvery  anxio 

jber,  which 

g    By  way 

in^  him  t< 

wmdow,  V 

pect,  and  n 

1  greatly  pi 

"  What 
these  lodgii 

"  Puh !" 
over  the  no 
for  mch  an 

I  don't  til 
my  life. 

"  I  come 

That's  al 

"Oh!  th 

"  Yes. 

n.    He 
imine.    I  Ii 
ttion  it,  but 
;day!" 
ii    I  assurec 
|view  perfe 
i'  -ctor.    A 
^I'li  our  waj 
'  oinpoxed 
lin  of  pa| 
biige  her 
we  parted. 

"  I  think 
[v'ews  like 
ihe  is  not  a 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


lought  it  never  did 
IciDil.s  ofScutiatu). 
ig  blocks  of  ice, 
ling  xnd  cracking 
Iter,  in  the  cour.»o 
skses,  carried  down 
!  cuirent,  did  not 
heless,  we  moved 
ng  well  wrapied 
;her,  and  enjoyed 
It  Kiver  is  a  nne 
nmer-time,  are,  I 
all  events,  I  was 
e  cabin  ;  and  she 
if  the  possession 
:iation  of  it,  for  a 
r  looked  upon. 
if  this  odd  travels 
small  town,  where 
nsiderably  bigger 
cached  Hartford, 
)  extremely  com- 
,  in  the  article  of 
cry  place  we  vis- 
irly  rising. 
rhe  town  is  beaa- 
eenhilU;  the  soil 
cfully  improved, 
iture  of  Connecti- 
bygone  times,  the 
"  in  virtue  where- 
ovisions,  any  cit- 

have  kisBcd  his 
lie,  I  believe,  with 
old  Puritan  spirit 
sent  hour;  but  its 
I  know,  to  make 
bargains,  or  more 
never  heard  of  its 
sise,  I  infer  that  it 
accustomed,  with 
nd  severe  faces,  to 
iher  world  pretty 
f this;  and when- 
imodities  with  too 
I  window,  I  doubt 
n. 

ous  oak  in  which 
cas  hidden.  It  is 
s  garden.  In  the 
self.  I  found  the 
one  as  at  Boston; 
IS  good.  Theln- 
idncted,  and  so  is 
]  Dumb. 

ithin  mypelf,  as  I 
sylum,  whether  I 
ants  from  the  na- 
which  pnssed  ne- 
jr,  in  reference  to 
ge.  Of  course  I 
eir  looks ;  for  the 
WAS  mad  enongh. 
old  lady,  of  very 
appearance,  who 
the  end  of  a  long 

of  inexpressihie 
is  unaccountabV 

ish,  Sir,  upon  the 

led, 

lir,  he  wa5 — "  , 
tremely  well.    He 
)liment8.    I  never 


At  this  the  old  ladf  was  reiy  much  del^^hted. 

tier  gldncing  at  me  for  a  moatent,  as  it  (o  tw 

uiie  kure  IhaX  1  was  serioui  in  mv  re^ipectfui 

r,  she  tiidleJ  back  some  pacci;  sidled  torward 
|£g  .in ;  made  a  sudden  slcip  (at  witiub  I  precipi- 
tately reireaied  a  step  or  two),  and  said: 

"  /  am  an  aniediiuviaa,  bir." 

I  thougat  the  best  thing  to  say  was,  that  I  had 
suspectea  as  much  trom  the  first.  Therefore  1 
Suid  M. 

"  It  is  an  extremely  proud  and  pleasant  thing, 
Sir,  to  be  an  antediluvian,"  said  tue  old  lady. 

"  1  should  think  it  was.  Ma'am,"  1  rejoined. 

The  old  lady  kissed  her  hand,  gave  another 
skip,  smirked  and  sidled  down  the  gallery  in  a 
most  extraordinary  manner,  and  ambled  grace- 
fully into  her  own  bed-chamber. 

Id  another  part  of  the  building  there  was  a 
male  patient  in  bed;  very  much  flushed  and 
heated.  K 

"  Well !"  said  he,  starting  up,  and  pulling  otf 
his  night-cap:  "It's  all  settled  at  last  I  have 
arranged  it  with  Glueen  Victoria." 

"  Arranged  whail"  asked  the  Doctor. 

"  Why,  that  business,"  passing  his  hand  weari- 
ly across  his  forehead, "  about  the  siege  of  New- 
York." 

"  Oh !"  said  I,  like  a  man  suddenly  enlighten- 
ed.   For  he  looked  at  me  for  an  answer. 

"  Yes.  Every  house  without  a  signal  will  be 
fi  ed  upon  by  the  British  troops.  Nu  harm  will 
be  done  to  the  others.  No  harm  at  all.  Those 
that  want  to  be  sate  must  hoist  iiags.  That's  all 
t  ey'll  have  to  do.    They  must  hoist  flag.s." 

bjVin  while  he  was  speaking,  he  seemed,  I 
hought,  to  have  some  tViint  idea  liiHl  his  t<:b<  was 
ncolierent.  Directly  he  had  said  these  words,  he 
lay  down  again ;  gave  a  kind  ot  groan,  and  cuv- 
red  his  hot  head  with  the  blankets. 

These  was  another :  a  young  man,  whose  mad- 
ess  was  love  and  music.    Aiit  *    laying  on  the 
ccordion  a  march  he  had  composed,  he  was 
very  anxious  that  I  should  Walk  into  his  cham- 
jber,  which  i  immediately  did. 
I    By  way  of  being  very  knowing,  and  humour- 
ing; him  to  the  top  of  his  bent,  I  went  to  the 
window,  which  commanded  a  beaiitiliil  pros- 

r:ci,  and  remarked,  with  an  address  upon  which 
greatly  plumed  myself: 
"What  a  delicious  country  you  have  about 
these  lodgings  of  yours." 

"  Puh !"  said  he,  moving  his  fingers  carelessly 
over  the  notes  of  his  instrument 
for  siich  an  Insfi'iUion  as  this  I" 
I  don't  think  I  was  ever  .so  I 
my  life. 

"  I  come  here  just  for  a  whim,"  ha  said,  ctmlly. 
"That's  all." 
"  Oh !  that's  all !"  said  1.  all 

"Yes.     That's  all.     The  Doctor's  a  smart 
n.    He  quite  enters  into  it.    It's  a  joke  of 
mine.    I  like  it  for  a  time.    You  needn't  men- 
tion it,  but  I  think  I  shall  go  out  next  Tues- 
Jday!" 

I    I  assured  him  that  I  would  consider  our  inter- 

|view   perfectly  confidential;  and  rejoined   tlie 

i~ -ctor.    As  we  were  passing  ihrotifjh  a  gallery 

^i^ii  our  way  out,  a  well-dressed  lady,  oC  quiet  and 

*  uinposed  manners,  came  up,  iinil  profleiing  a 

lip  of  paper  and  a  pen,  begge«i  thiit  I  would 

ihllge  her  with  an  autograph,     I  complied,  and 

we  parted. 

"I  think  I  remember  having  had  a  lew  Inier- 
v'ews  like  that  with  ladies  out  of  doors.  I  hofw 
lAc' is  not.  madl" 


"  VVeU  eiwuga 


I  taken  aback  in  all 


"Yes." 

"  On  what  .Hiibject  1    Autographs  1" 

"  Nu.    bhe  hears  voices  in  tiie  air." 

"  Well !"  UMiight  1,  "  it  would  be  well  if  wa 
could  shut  up  a  tew  lalse  proptiets  of  Uiese  later 
times,  wtiu  hare  profes.sed  lu  uu  the  same;  uad  f 
should  like  to  try  the  experiment  on  a  Mormoiv- 
ist  or  two  to  begin  with." 

In  this  place  (here  is  the  be^  jail  for  untried 
uflfenders  in  the  world.  There  is  also  a  verjr 
well-ordered  state  prison,  arranged  upon  the  same 
plan  as  that  at  Boston,  except  tnal  here,  there  is 
always  a  sentry  on  tiie  wail  with  a  loadeti  gun. 
It  contained  at  that  time  about  two  hundr>»l  pris- 
oners. A  spo  was  shown  me  in  liie  sleeping 
ward,  where  a  watchman  was  murdered  soma 
years  since  in  the  dead  of  night,  in  a  desperaia 
attempt  to  escape,  made  by  a  {nrisoner  who  had 
broken  from  his  cell.  A  woman,  too,  waa 
pointed  out  to  me,  who,  for  ttie  murder  of  her 
husband,  had  been  a  close  prisoner  for  sixteeis 
years. 

"  Do  you  think,"  I  asked  of  my  conductor, 
"  that  alter  so  very  long  an  imprisonment,  she 
has  any  thought  or  hope  of  ever  regaining  hev 
Ubertyl" 

"  Oh  dear,  yes,"  he  answered.  "  To  be  sure 
she  has." 

"  She  has  to  chance  of  obtaining  it,  1  suih 
posel"  '^ 

"Well,  I  don't  know:"  which,  by-the-by,  is  a 
national  answer.    "  Her  friemls  mistrust  her." 

"  What  have  they  to  do  with  ii  1"  I  naturally 
inqiiiret^. 

"  Well,  they  won't  petition." 

"  But  if  they  did  taey  coukln't  get  her  out,  I 
.suppose  V 

"Well,  not  the  first  time,  perhaps,  nor  yet  the 
Seconal,  but  tiring  and  wearying  for  a  few  years 
migat  do  it." 

'•Does  that  ever  do  it!" 

"  Wliy  yes,  that'll  do  it .  -netiues.  Political 
friends  'II  do  it  sometimes.  It's  pretty  often  done, 
one  way  or  anotiier." 

I  shall  always  entertain  a  very  pleasant  and 
grateful  recollection  of  Hartlbrd.  It  is  a  lovely 
phice,  and  I  had  many  friends  there,  whom  1  can 
never  remember  with  indifference.  We  left  it 
with  no  little  regret  un  the  evening  of  Friday 
the  llth,  and  travelled  that  night  lit  railroad  to 
New  H  iven.  Upon  the  way,  liie  guard  and  I 
were  firinally  introduced  to  each  other  (as  we 
usually  weie  on  such  occasions),  and  exchanged 
a  variety  of  small-talk.  We  reached  New  Ha- 
ven at  about  eight  o'clock,  alter  a  journey  of 
three  hours,  and  put  up  for  the  night  at  the  best 
inn. 

New  Haven,  known  also  as  the  City  of  EIm>», 
is  a  fine  town.  Many  of  its  streets  (as  its  iU.as 
sufficiently  imports)  are  planted  with  rows  of 
grand  old  elm-trees;  and  the  same  natural  (»ma- 
inents  surround  Yale  College,  an  estaLIishme  it 
of  c«tn<iderable  eminence  and  reputation.  The 
various  departments  of  this  Institution  are  erect- 
ed in  a  kind  of  park  or  common  in  the  middle 
of  the  town,  where  they  are  dimly  visible  among 
the  shadowing  trees.  The  elleci  is  very  like  that 
III  nn  old  cathedral  yard  in  England;  and  when 
their  branches  are  in  full  leaf,  must  !>e  extremely 
picturesque.  Even  in  the  winter  time,  these 
groups  of  well-grown  tree.s,  clustering  ainon^ 
the  busy  streets  and  houses  of  a  thriving  city,, 
havpa  very  quaint  appearance:  seeming  to  brinr; 
hIkmu  .1  kindof  comnromiNe  between  town  and 
country ;  as  if  each  had  met  the  other  half  way. 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


'it 


and  shaken  hands  upon  it ;  which  is  at  once  novel 
and  pleasant. 

Alter  a  night's  rest,  we  rose  early,  and  in  good 
tiuie  went  duwn  (o  the  wbarl',  and  on  Iwara  the 

Jacket  Is'ew-Vork,/<w  New- York.  This  was  the 
rot  Aiuei  ican  steamboat  of  any  size  that  I  had 
seen ;  and  certainly  to  an  English  eye  it  was  in- 
finitely less  like  a  steamboat  th»,i  a  huge  float- 
ing bath.  I  could  hardly  persuade  myselt,  indeed. 
bui  that  the  bathing  estaolishinent  otf  Westmin- 
ster Bridge,  which  1  had  letl  a  baby,  had  suddenly 
Jrown  to  an  enormous  size;  run  away  trom 
ome ;  and  set  up  in  tbreign  parts  as  a  steamer. 
Being  in  America  too,  wiiich  our  vagabonds  do 
8o  particularly  tavour,  it  seemed  the  more  prob- 
able. 

The  great  uifTerence  in  appearance  between 
these  packets  and  ours,  is,  that  there  is  so  much 
or  them  out  of  the  water:  the  main-deck  being 
enclosed  on  all  sides,  and  filled  with  casks  and 
goods,  like  any  second  or  third  floor  in  a  stack 
of  warehouses ;  and  the  promenade  or  hurricane- 
deck  being  a-top  of  that  iigain.  A  part  of  the 
machinery  is  always  above  this  deck :  where  the 
connecting-rod,  in  a  strong  and  lolly  frame,  is  seen 
working  away  like  an  iron  top-sawyer.  There  is 
seldom  any  mast  or  tackle :  nothing  aloft  but  two 
tall  black  chimneys.  The  man  at  the  helm  is 
shut  up  in  a  little  house  in  the  fore  part  of  the 
boat  (tnc  wheel  being  connected  with  the  rudder 
by  iron  chains,  working  the  whole  length  of  the 
deck) ;  and  the  passengers,  unless  the  weather 
be  very  fine  indeed,  usually  congregate  Lelow. 
Directly  you  have  left  the  wharf,  all  the  life,  and 
stir,  and  bustle  of  a  packet  cease.  You  wonder 
for  a  long  time  how  she  ^oes  on,  for  there  seems 
to  be  nobody  in  charge  ol  her;  and  when  another 
of  these  dull  machines  comes  splashing  by,  you 
feel  quite  indignant  with  it,  as  a  sudden  cum- 
brous, ungraceful,  unshiplike  leviathan:  quite 
foi^etting  that  the  vessel  you  are  on  board  of,  is 
its  very  counterpart. 

There  is  always  a  clerk's  ofRce  on  the  lower 
deck,  where  you  pay  your  fare ;  a  ladies'  cabin ; 
baggage  ancf  stowage  rooms ;  engineer's  room ; 
and  in  short  a  great  variety  of  perplexities  which 
vender  the  discovenr  of  the  gentleman's  cabin,  a 
Blatter  of  .some  difficulty.  It  often  occupies  the 
whole  length  of  the  boat  (as  it  did  in  this  c»e), 
and  has  three  oribar  tiers  of  berths  on  each  side. 
When  I  first  descended  into  the  cabin  of  the  New- 
York,  it  looked,  in  my  unaccustomed  eyes,  about 
as  long  as  the  Burlington  Arcade. 

The  Sound  which  has  to  be  crossed  on  this 
passage,  is  not  always  a  very  safe  or  pleasant 
navigation,  and  has  been  the  scene  of  some  pn- 
fortunate  accidents.  It  was  a  wet  morning,  a  d 
very  misty,  and  we  soon  lost  sight  of  land.  The 
day  was  calm,  however,  and  brightened  towards 
noon.  Afler  exhausting  (with  good  help  from  a 
friend)  the  larder,  and  the  stock  of  boUled  beer,  I 
lay  down  to  sleep :  being  very  much  tired  with 
^e  fatigues  of  yesterday.  But  I  awoke  from  my 
nap  in  time  to  hurry  up,  and  see  Hell  Gate,  the 
Hog's  Back,  the  Prying  Pan,  and  other  notori- 
ous localities,  attractive  to  all  readers  of  famous 
Diedrich  Knickerbocker's  History.  We  were 
now  in  a  narrow  channel,  with  sloping  banks  on 
either  side,  besprinkled  with  pleasant  villas,  and 
made  refreshing  to  the  sight  by  turf  and  trees. 
Soon  we  shot  in  quick  succession,  past  a  light- 
house ;  a  madhouse  (how  the  lunatics  flung  up 
theircaps,  and  roared  in  sympathy  with  the  head- 
long engine  and  the  driving  tide)!  a  jail;  and 
other  buildings ;  and  so  emerged  into  a  noble  bay, 


whose  waters  sparkled  in  the  ooW  doadless  siui> 
shine  like  Nature's  eyes  turned  up  to  Heaven. 

Then  there  lay  stretched  oat  beibre  us,  to  the 
right,  confused  heaps  of  buildings,  with  here  and 
ttiere  a  spire  or  steeple,  looking  down  upon  tne 
herd  below ;  and  here  and  theie,  again,  a  cloud 
of  lazy  smuke ;  and  in  the  Ibreground  a  Ibrest  of 
ships'  masts,  cneery  with  flapping  sails  and  wav- 
ing flagd.  Crossing  from  among  them  to  the 
opposite  shore,  were  steam  ferry-bOatis  laden  with 
people,  coaches,  horses,  wagons,  Imskcts,  boxes : 
crossing  and  recrossing  by  other  ferry-boats:  all 
travelling  to  and  fro:  and  never  idle.  Statelj 
among  tnese  restless  Insects,  were  two  or  thre4 
large  ships,  moving  with  slow  majestic  pace,  as 
creatures  of  a  prouder  kind,  disdainful  of  their 
puny  journeys,  and  making  for  the  broad  sea. 
Beyond,  were  shining  heights,  and  islands  in  the 
glancing  river,  and  a  distance  scarcely  less  blue 
and  brignt  than  the  sky  it  seemed  to  meet.  The 
city's  hum  and  buzz,  the  clinking  of  capstains, 
the  ringing  of  bells,  the  barking  ot  dogs,  the  clat- 
tering of  wheels,  tingled  in  the  listening  ear.  All 
of  wnich  life  and  stir,  coming  across  the  stirring 
water,  caught  new  life  and  animation  from  its 
tree  companionship ;  and,  sympathizing  with  its 
buoyant  spirits,  glistening  as  it  seemed  in  sport 
upon  its  surface,  and  hemmed  the  vessel  round, 
and  plashed  the  water  high  about  her  sides,  and, 
floating  her  gallantly  into  the  dock,  flew  ofl'again 
(o  welcome  other  comers,  and  speed  before  tneu 
to  the  busy  Port. 


CHAPTER  VL 

NBW-TORX. 

The  beautiful  metropolis  of  America  is  by  no 
means  so  clean  a  city  as  Boston,  but  many  of  its 
streets  have  the  same  charactesistics ;  except 
that  the  houses  are  not  quite  so  fresh-coloared, 
the  .sign-boards  are  not  quite  so  gaudy,  the  gilded 
letters  not  quite  so  gulden,  the  bricks  not  quite 
so  red,  the  stone  not  quite  so  white,  the  blinds  and 
area  railings  not  quite  so  green,  the  knobs  and 
plates  i^ion  the  street  doors,  not  quite  so  bright 
and  twinkling.  There  are  many  by-streets,  al- 
most as  neutral  in  clean  colours,  and  positive  tai 
dirty  ones,  as  by-streets  in  London;  and  there 
is  one  quarter,  commonly  called  the  Five  Points, 
which,  in  respect  of  filth  and  wretchedness,  may 
be  safely  backed  against  Seven  Dials,  or  waj 
other  part  of  famed  St.  Giles's. 

The  great  promenade  and  thoroughfare,  as 
most  people  know,  is  Broadway;  a  wide  and 
bustling  street,  which,  from  the  Battery  Gardens 
to  its  opposite  termination  in  a  country  road,  may- 
be four  miles  long.  Shall  we  sit  down  in  an 
iipper  floor  of  the  Carlton  House  Hotel  (situated 
in  the  best  partof  this  main  artery  of  New-Yoiicy, 
and  when  we  are  tired  of  looking  down  upon  the 
life  below,  sally  forth  arm^io-arm,  and  mingle 
with  the  stream'1 

Warm  weather  t  The  sun  strikes  upon  our 
heads  at  this  open  window,  as  though  its  rays 
were  concentrated  through  a  burning-glass;  hut 
the  dav  is  in  its  zenith,  and  the  season  an  nnusnnl 
one.  Was  there  ever  such  a  sunny  street  as  this 
Broadway  1  The  pavement  stones  are  polished 
with  the  tread  of  feet  until  they  shine  again  ;  the 
red  liricks  of  the  houses  mieht  be  yet  in  the  dry, 
hot  kilns;  and  the  roofs  of  tliose  omnibuses  look 
as  though,  if  water  were  poured  on  them,  thev 
would  hiss  and  smoke,  and  smell  like  hall- 


leaven  sa 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


aW  cIoadleM  sniK 
I  uu  to  Heaven. 
t  betbre  as,  tu  tiw 
igs,  with  here  and 
i  down  upon  tne 
re,  again,  a  cloud 
[round  a  lbre.st  of 
Dg  sails  and  wav- 
lung  tfaein  to  the 
'-bOatit  laden  with 
i,  ba!»kcts,  boxes: 
r  ferry-boats:  all 
'«r  idle.  Statelj 
rere  two  or  thre) 
naajestic  pace,  as 
isdainful  of  their 
>r  the  broad  sea. 
ind  islands  in  the 
jcarcely  less  blue 
sd  to  meet.  I'he 
ing  of  capstains, 
ot  dogs,  the  ciat- 
isteningear.  All 
.cross  the  stirring 
limation  from  its 
lathizing  with  its 
:  seemed  in  sport 
the  vessel  round, 
ut  her  sides,  and, 
<:k,  flew  offagaia 
peed  before  titem 


I. 


America  is  by  no 
n,  but  many  of  its 
lesistics;  except 
K)  fresh-coioaredj 
gaudy,  the  gilded 
brichs  not  quite 
ite,  the  blinds  and 
n,  the  knobs  and 
ot  quite  so  bright 
my  by-streets,  «!• 
8,  and  positive  ia 
indon;  and  there 
i  the  Five  Points, 
'retcbedness,  may 
en  Dials,  or  any 

thoroughfare,  as 
ay;  a  wide  and 

Battery  Gardens 
:ountry  road,  may 
I  sit  clown  in  an 
se  Hotel  (situated 
ryofNew-Yoiky, 
ig  down  upon  the 
arm,  and  mingle 

strikes  upon  our 
s  though  its  rays 
iiming-glass;  hut 
«ason  an  nnusn»i 
inny  street  as  this 
ones  are  pulitihed 
shine  again ;  the 
be  yet  in  the  dry, 
e  omnibuses  l<K)k 
ed  on  thenv,  thev 
smell  like  half- 


enched  fires.  No  stint  oi  omnibuses  here !  | 
alf  a  dozeu  have  gone  by  within  as  many 
inutes.  Plenty  of  hackney  cabs  and  coaches 
o;  gigs,  phaetons,  large-wheeled  tilburies,  and 
rivate  carriages— rather  of  a  clumsy  make,  and 
ot  very  different  from  the  public  vehicles,  but 
luilt  for  the  heavy  roads  beyond  the  city  pave- 
ent.  Negro  coachmen  and  white;  in  straw 
ts,  black  hats,  white  hats,  glazed  caps,  (\ir  caps ; 
coats  of  drab,  black,  brown,  green,  blue,  nan- 
een,  striped  jean  and  linen;  and  there,  in  that 
ne  instance  (look  while  it  passes,  or  it  will  be 
;oo  late),  in  suits  of  livery.  Some  southern  re- 
lublican  that,  who  puts  his  blacks  in  imiform, 
nd  swells  with  Sultan  pomp  and  power.  Yon- 
ier,  where  that  phaeton  with  the  well-clipped  pair 
f  grays  has  stopped — standing  attheirheads  now 
-is  a  Yorkshire  groom,  who  has  not  been  very 
long  in  these  parts,  and  looks  sorrowfully  roimd 
br  a  companion  pair  of  top-boots,  which  he  may 
raverse  the  city  half  a  year  without  meeting. 
~eaven  save  the  ladies,  h  w  they  dress !  We 
ve  .seen  more  colours  in  these  ten  minutes, 
han  we  should  have  seen  elsewhere,  in  as  many 
kys.  What  various  parasols!  what  rainbow 
ilks  and  satins !  what  pinking  of  thin  stockings, 
d  pinching  of  thin  shoes,  and  fluttering  of  rib- 
nds  and  silk  tassels,  and  display  of  rich  cloaks 
ith  gaudy  hoods  and  linings !  The  young  gen- 
lemen  are  fond,  you  see,  of  turning  down  their 
hirt-collars  and  cultivating  their  whiskers,  espe- 
ially  under  the  chin  ;  but  they  cannot  approach 
;he  ladies  in  their  dress  or  bearing,  being,  to  say 
;he  truth,  humanity  of  quite  another  sort.  Byrons 
if  the  desk  and  counter,  pass  on,  and  let  us  see 
hat  kind  of  men  those  are  behind  ye :  those  two 
bourersin  hoi yday  clothes,  of  whom  one  carries 
his  hand  acrumpled  scrap  of  paper  from  which 
e  tries  to  spell  out  a  hard  name,  while  the  other 
oks  about  for  it,  on  all  the  doors  and  win- 
ows. 

Irishmen  both !  You  might  know  them,  if  they 
ere  masked,  by  their  long-tailed  blue  coats  and 
iright  buttons,  and  theirdrab  trousers,  which  they 
Krear  like  men  well  used  to  working  dresses,  who 
ure  easy  in  no  others.  It  would  be  hard  to  keep 
rour  model  republics  going,  without  the  country- 
nen  and  countrywomen  of  those  two  labourers. 
Tor  who  else  would  dig,  and  delve,  and  dradge, 
tnd  do  domestic  work,  and  make  canals  and  roads, 
Lnd  execute  great  lines  of  Internal  Improvement ! 
rishmen  both,  and  sorely  puzzled  too,  to  find  out 
vhat  they  seek.  Let  us  go  down,  and  help  them, 
or  the  love  of  home,  and  that  spirit  of  liberty 
vhich  admits  of  honest  service  to  honest  men, 
md  honest  work  for  honest  bread,  no  matter  what 
the. 

That's  well !  We  have  got  at  the  right  address 
It  last,  though  it  is  written  in  strange  characters 
ruly,  and  might  have  been  scrawled  with  the 
rtunt  handle  of  the  spade  the  writer  betters  knows 
he  use  of,  than  a  pen.  Their  way  lies  yonder, 
^ut  what  business  takes  them  there  1  They  carry 
#avings:  to  hoard  up  1  No.  They  are  brothers, 
"'  ose  men.  One  crossed  the  sea  alone,  and  work- 
g  very  hard  for  one  half  year,  and  living  harder, 
aved  funds  enough  to  bring  the  other  out.  That 
one,  they  worked  together,  side  by  side,  content- 
dly  sharing  hard  labour  and  hard  living  for  an- 
ther term,  and  then  their  sisters  came,  and  then 
nother  brother,  and,  lastly,  their  old  mother, 
nd  what  now  1  Why,  the  poor  old  crone  is 
stless  in  a  strange  land,  and  yearns  to  lay  her 
nes,  she  says,  among  her  people  in  the  old  grave- 
ard  at  home :  and  so  they  go  to  pay  her  passage 


back:  and  God  help  her  and  them,  and  every 
simple  heart,  and  all  who  turn  to  the  Jerusalem 
of  their  younger  days,  and  have  an  altar-fire  upon 
the  cola  hearth  of  their  fathers. 

This  narrow  thoroughfare,  baking  and  blister- 
ing in  the  sun,  is  Wall-street:  the  Stock  Ex- 
change and  Lombard-street  of  New- York.  Many 
a  rapid  fortune  has  been  made  in  this  street,  and 
many  a  no  less  rapid  ruin.  Some  of  these  very 
merchants  whom  you  see  hangingabout  here  now, 
have  locked  up  Nloney  in  their  strong-boxes,  like 
the  man  in  the  Arabian  Nights,  and  opening  them 
again,  have  found  but  whithcred  leaves.  Below, 
here  by  the  water  side,  where  the  bowsprits  of 
ships  stretch  across  the  footway,  and  almost 
thrust  themselves  into  the  windows,  lie  the  noble 
American  vessels  which  have  made  their  Packet 
Service  the  finest  in  the  world.  They  have 
brought  hither  the  foreigners  who  abound  in  all 
the  streets :  not  perhaps,  that  there  are  more  here 
than  in  other  commercial  cities ;  but  elsewhere, 
they  have  particular  haunts,  and  you  must  fina 
them  out ;  here,  they  pervade  the  town. 

We  must  cross  Broadway  again ;  gaining 
some  refreshment  from  the  heat,  in  the  sight  of 
the  great  blocks  of  clean  ice  which  are  being 
carried  into  shops  and  bar-rooms ;  and  the  pine- 
apples and  water-melons  profusely  displayed  for 
sale.  Fine  streets  of  sjpacious  houses  here,  you 
see !— Wall  Street  has  furnished  and  dismantled 
many  of  them  very  often — and  here  a  deep  green 
leafy  square.  Be  sure  that  is  a  hospitable  house 
with  inmates  to  be  affectionately  remembered 
always,  where  they  have  the  open  door  and 
pretty  show  of  plants  within,  and  where  the  child 
with  laughing  eyes  is  peeping  out  of  window  at 
the  little  dog  below.  You  wonder  what  may  be 
the  use  of  this  tall  flagstaff  in  the  by  street, 
with  something  like  Liberty's  head-dress  on  its 
top :  so  do  I.  But  there  is  a  passion  for  tall  flag- 
staffs  hereabout,  and  you  may  see  its  twin  brotE- 
er  in  five  minutes,  if  you  have  a  mind. 

Again  cross  Broadway,  and  so — passing  from 
the  many-coloured  crowd  and  glittering  shops— 
into  another  long  main  street,  the  Bowery.  A 
railroad  yonder,  see,  where  two  stout  horses  trot 
along,  drawing  a  score  or  two  of  people  and  a 
great  wooden  ark,  with  ease.  The  stores  are 
poorer  here ;  the  passengers  less  gay.  Clothes 
ready-made,  and  meat  ready-cooked,  are  to  be 
bought  in  these  parts ;  and  the  lively  whirl  of 
carriages  is  exchanged  for  the  deep  rumble  of 
carts  and  waggns.  These  signs  which  are  so 
plentiful,  in  shape  like  river  buoys,  or  small  bal- 
loons, hoisted  by  cords  to  poles,  and  dangling 
there,  announce,  as  you  may  see  by  looking  up, 
"  Oysters  in  every  Style."  They  tempt  the 
hungry  most  at  night,  for  then  dull  candles  glim- 
mering inside,  illuminate  these  dainty  words, 
and  make  the  mouths  of  idlers  water,  as  they 
read  and  linger. 

What  is  this  dismal-fronted  pile  of  bastard 
Egyptian,  like  an  enchanter's  palace  in  a  melo 
drama!— a  famous  prison,  called  The  Tombs. 
Shall  we  go  in  1 

So.  A  long  narrow  lofty  building,  stove- 
heated  as  usual,  with  four  galleries,  one  above 
the  other,  going  round  it,  and  communicating 
by  stairs.  Between  the  two  sides  of  each  gal- 
lery, and  in  its  centre,  a  bridge,  for  the  greater 
convenience  (rf  crossing.  On  each  of  these 
bridges  sits  a  man :  dozing  or  reading,  or  talking 
to  an  idle  companion.  On  each  tier,  are  two 
opposite  rows  of  small  iron  doors.  They  look 
like  furnace  doors,  but  are  cold  and  black,  af 


NOTBS  OK  AMERICA. 


!l! 


though  the  fires  whhin  had  all  gone  ont  Bone 
two  ur  three  are  open,  and  women,  with  droop- 
ing heads  bent  down,  are  talking  to  the  iomaies. 
The  wliole  is  lighted  by  a  skylight,  but  it  i«  fast 
closed :  and  from  the  roof  there  dangle,  limp  and 
drooping,  two  useless  windsuils. 

A  man  with  keys  appeurs,  to  show  us  round. 
A  good-looking  fellow,  and,  in  his  way,  civil  and 
obliging. 

"Are  those  black  doors  the  cells  V 

"  Yes." 

"  Are  "they  all  fulll" 

"  Well,  they're  pretty  nigh  full,  and  that's  a 
bet,  and  no  two  ways  about  it." 

"  Those  at  the  bottom  are  unwholesome,  sure- 
ly 1" 

"  Why,  we  do  only  put  coloured  people  in  'em. 
That's  the  truth." 

"  When  do  the  prisoners  take  exercise  V 

"  Well,  they  do  without  it  pretty  much." 

"  Do  they  never  walk  in  toe  yard  1" 

"  Considerable  seldom." 

"  Sometimes,  I  suppose  1" 

"Well,  it's  rare  they  do.  They  keep  pretty 
bright  without  it." 

"  But  suppose  a  man  were  here  for  a  twelve- 
month. I  Know  this  is  only  a  prison  for  crimi- 
nals who  are  charged  with  grave  offences,  while 
they  are  awaiting  their  trial,  or  are  imder  re- 
mand, but  the  law  here,  affords  criminals  many 
means  of  delay.  What  with  motions  for  new 
trial,  and  in  arrest  of  judgment,  and  what  not,  a 
prisoner  might  be  here  for  twelve  months,  I  take 
It,  might  he  nott" 

"Well,  I  guess  he  might." 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  in  all  that  time  he 
would  never  come  out  at  that  little  iron  door,  for 
exercise  1" 

"  He  might  walk  some,  perhaps — not  much." 

"  Will  you  open  one  of  the  doors  1" 

"All,  if  you  like." 

The  fastenings  jar  and  rattle,  and  one  of  the 
doors  turns  slowly  on  its  hinges.  Let  us  look 
in.  A  small  bare  cell,  into  which  the  light  en- 
ters through  a  high  chink  in  the  wall.  'There  is 
a  rude  means  of  washing,  a  table,  and  a  bed- 
stead. Upon  the  latter,  sits  a  man  of  sixty ; 
reading.  He  looks  up  for  a  moment ;  gives  an 
impatient  dogged  shake ;  and  fixes  his  eyes  upon 
his  book  again.  As  we  withdraw  our  heads, 
tite  door  closes  on  him,  and  is  fastened  as  before. 
This  man  has  murdered  his  wife,  and  will  prob- 
ably be  hanged. 

"  How  long  has  he  been  here  1" 

"A  month/' 

"When  will  he  be  tried!" 

"Next  term." 

"When  is  that r'  .  , 

"Next  month." 

"  In  England,  if  a  man  be  tinder  sentence  of 
death,  even,  he  has  air  and  exercise  at  certain 
periods  of  the  day." 

"  Possible  1" 

With  what  stupendous  and  untranslatable 
coolness  he  says  this,  and  how  loungingly  he 
leads  on  to  the  women's  side :  making,  as  he 
goes,  a  kind  of  iron  Castanet  of  the  key  and  the 
stair-rail  I 

Each  cell  door  on  this  side  has  a  square  aper- 
ture in  it.  Some  of  the  women  peep  anxiously 
through  it  at  the  sound  of  footsteps ;  others  shrink 
away  in  shame. — For  ^hat  offence  can  that 
lonely  child,  of  ten  or  twelve  years  old,  be  shut 
up  here  1  Oh !  that  boy  1  lie  is  the  son  of  the 
prisoner  we  saw  just  now;  is  a  witness  against 


his  father;  and  is  detained  iMfC  for  safo'lMeping, 

until  the  trail :  that's  all. 

But  it  is  a  dreadful  place  fur  the  ehild  to  paai 
the  long  days  and  nights  in.  This  is  rather  bard 
treatment  fur  a  young  witness,  is  it  not  1 — What 
says  our  conductor  1 

"  Well,  it  ain't  a  very  rowdy  life,  and  tkafiM  • 
fact!" 

Again  he  clinks  his  metal  castanet,  and  leads 
us  leisurely  away.  I  have  a  question  to  ask  him 
as  we  go. 

"Pray,  why  do  they  call  this  place  The 
Tombs  r 

"  Well,  it's  the  cant  name." 

"I  know  it  is.    Whyl" 

"  Some  suicides  happened  here,  when  it  vu 
fir.«t  built.    I  expect  it  come  about  from  that." 

"  I  saw  just  now,  that  that  man's  clothes  wei« 
scattered  about  the  floor  of  his  cell.  Don't  yoa 
oblige  the  prisoners  to  be  orderly,  and  put  such 
things  away  )" 

"  Where  should  they  put  'emi" 

"  Not  on  the  groimd  surely.  What  do  yoa  say 
to  hanging  them  upl" 

He  stops,  and  looks  round  to  emphasize  his 
answer: 

"  Why,  I  say  that's  just  it  When  they  had 
hooks  tney  teovid  hang  themselves,  so  they're 
taken  out  of  every  cell,  and  there's  only  the  marks 
lefl  where  they  used  to  be !" 

The  prison-yard  in  which  he  pauses  now,  has 
been  the  scene  of  terrible  performances.  Into  this 
narrow,  grave-like  place,  men  are  brought  out  to 
die.  The  wretched  creaiure  stands  beneath  thfs 
gibbet  on  the  ground  ;  the  rope  about  his  necl; ; 
and  when  tee  sign  is  given,  a  weight  at  its  other 
end  comes  running  down,  and  swings  him  up  into 
the  air — a  corpse. 

The  law  requires  that  there  be  present  at  this 
dismal  spectacle,  the  judge,  the  jury,  and  citizens 
to  the  amount  of  twenty-five.  From  the  conunu- 
nity  it  is  hidden.  To  the  dissolulc  and  bad,  the 
thing  remains  a  frightful  myster\'.  Between  the 
criminal  and  them,  the  prison-v.'al!  is  interposed 
as  a  thick  gloomy  veil.  It  is  t  u  curtain  to  his 
bed  of  death,  his  winding-sheet,  and  grave. 
From  him  it  shuts  out  life,  and  all  the  motives  to 
unrepenting  hardihood  in  that  last  hour,  which 
its  mere  sight  and  presence  is  often  all-sufficient 
to  sustain.  There  are  no  bold  eyes  to  make  him 
bold;  no  ruffians  to  uphold  a  ruffian's  name 
before.  All  beyond  the  pitiless  stone  wall,  is 
unknown  space. 

Let  us  go  forth  again  into  the  cheerful  streets. 

Once  more  in  Broadway !  Here  are  thesame 
ladies  in  bright  colours,  walking  to  and  fro,  in 

I)airs  and  singly ;  yonder  the  very  same  light 
)lue parasol  whi<'h  passed  and  repassed  the  hotel 
window  twenty  times  while  we  were  sitting 
there.  We  are  going  to  cross  here.  Take  care 
of  the  pigs.  Two  portly  sows  are  trotting  up 
behind  this  carriage,  and  a  select  party  of  half 
a-dpzen  gentlemen-hogs  have  just  now  turned 
the  comer. 

Here  is  a  solitary  swine,  lounging  homeward 
by  himself.  He  has  only  one  ear ;  having  parted 
with  the  other  to  vagrant-dogs  in  the  course  of 
his  city  rambles.  But  he  gets  on  very  well 
without  it;  and  leads- a  roving,  gentlemanly, 
vagabond  kind  of  life,  somewhat  answering  to 
that  of  our  club-men  at  home.  He  leaves  his 
lodgings  every  morning  at  a  certain  hour,  throws 
hiniself  upon  the  town,  gets  through  his  day  in 
some  manner  quite  satisffictory  to  himself,  and 
regularly  appears  at  the  door  of  Ids  own  bouf^e 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


le  for  sale*k«epiiif , 

r  (he  ehiU  to  ftum 

This  is  rather  hard 
,is  ii  not  1— What 

ly  lUe,  and  tkaft « 

astanet,  and  leada 
uestion  to  ask  him 

1  this  place  The 


here,  when  it  was 
ibout  from  that." 
nan's  clothes  wera 
cell.    Dun't  yoa 
erly,  and  put  such 

ml" 
Whatdoyooaay 

to  emphasize  hit 

When  they  had 
nselves,  so  they're 
re's  only  the  marks 

le  pauses  now,  has 
rmances.  Into  this 
are  brought  out  to 
stands  beneath  thn 
pe  about  his  nee); ; 
weight  at  its  other 
swings  him  up  into 

e  be  present  at  this 
lejury,  and  citizens 
From  the  commu- 
solulc  and  bad,  the 
ter}'.  Between  the 
i-Trall  is  interposed 
3  tu  cuitnin  to  his 
•sheet,  and  grave, 
d  all  the  motives  to 
at  last  hour,  which 
soften  all-sufficient 
d  eyes  to  make  him 
I  a  ruffian's  name 
iless  stone  wall,  is 

;h6  cheerful  streets. 
Here  are  the  same 
king  to  and  fro,  in 
e  very  same  light 
I  repassed  the  hotel 
;  we  were  sitting 
IS  here.  Take  care 
ws  are  trotting  up 
elect  party  of  half 
e  just  now  turned 

mnging  homeward 
ear ;  having  parted 
;s  in  the  course  of 
rets  on  very  well 
ring,  gentlemanly, 
wrhat  answering  to 
le.  He  leaves  his 
ertain  hour,  throws 
through  his  day  in 
ory  to  himself,  and 
r  of  his  own  house 


at  night,  like  the  mysterious  master  of  Oil 
las.  He  IS  a  free-and-easy,  careless,  iudiderent 
lind  of  pig,  liaving  a  very  large  acquaintance 
mong  oUter  pigs  of  the  same  ctiaracter,  whom 
le  rather  knows  by  ^ight  than  conversation,  as 
le  seldom  troubles  himself  to  stop  and  exchange 
jvilitics,  but  goes  gnmting  down  the  keimel, 
liming  up  liie  news  and  small-talk  of  the  city. 
n  the  shape  of  cabbage-stalks  and  udal,  and 
earing  no  tails  but  his  own :  which  is  a  very 
hortone,  for  his  old  enemies,  the  dogs,  have  been 
,t  that  too,  and  have  left  him  hardly  enough  to 
wear  by.  He  is  in  every  respect  a  republican 
lig,  gomg  wherever  he  pleases,  and  mingling 
rith  tne  best  society,  on  an  equal,  if  not  superior 
Mting,  for  every  one  makes  way  when  he 
ippears,  and  the  haughtiest  give  him  the  wall  il' 
le  prefer  it.  He  is  a  great  philosopher,  and 
eldom  moved,  unless  by  the  dogs  before  men- 
ioned.  Sometimes,  indeed,  you  may  see  his 
mall  eye  twinkling  on  a  slaughtered  friend, 
rhose  carcase  garnishes  a  butcher's  door-post, 
nit  he  grunts  out,  "Such  is  life:  all  flesh  ispurk!" 
uries  his  nose  in  the  mire  again,  and  waddles 
own  the  gutter :  comforting  himself  with  the 
flection  that  there  is  one  snout  the  less  to  anti- 
lipate  stray  cabbage-stalks,  at  any  rate. 

They  are  the  city  scavengers,  these  pigs.   Ugly 
irutes  they  are;  having,  for  the   most  part, 
canty,  brown  backs,  like  the  lids  of  old  horse- 
lair  trunks :  spotted  with  unwholesome  black 
ilotches.    They  have  lon^,  gaunt  legs,  too,  and 
ch  peaked  shouts,  that  it  one  of  them  could  be 
rsuaded  to  sit  ibr  his  profile,  nobody  would 
^cognise  it  for  a  pig's  likeness.    They  are  never 
tended  upon,  or  led,  or  driven,  or  caught,  but 
e  thrown  upon  their  own  resources  in  early  life, 
d  become  preternaturally  knowing  in  conse- 
ence.    Every  pig  knows  where  he  lives,  much 
tter  than  anybody  could  tell  him.    At  this 
nr,  just  as  evening  is  closing  in,  you  will  see 
em  roaming  towards  bed  by  scores,  eating 
leir  way  to  the  last.    Occasionally,  some  youth 
Among  them  who  has  over-eaten  himself,  or  has 
~een  much  worried  by  dogs,  trots  shrinkingly 
[omeward,  like  a  prodigal  son :  but  this  is  a  rare 
ase:  perlect  self-possession  and  self-reliance, 
d  immovable  composure,  being  their  loremost 
ttributes. 

The  streets  and  shops  are  lighted  now ;  and 

the  eye  travels  down  the  long  thoroughfare, 

otted  with  bright  jets  of  gas,  it  is  reminded  of 

>xford  Street  or  Piccadilly.    Here  and  there,  a 

ight  of  broad  stone  cellar-steps  appears,  and  a 

lainted  lamp  directs  you  to  the  Bowling  Saloon, 

r  Ten-Pin  alley:  Ten-Pins  being  a  game  of 

lingled  chance  and  skill,  invented  when  the 

gislature  passed  an  act  forbidding  Nine-Pins. 

t  other  downward  flights  of  steps,  are  other 

mps,  marking  the  whereabout  of  oystercel- 

rs— pleasant  retreats,  say  I :  not  only  by  reason 

f  their  wonderful  cookery  of  oysters,  pretty  nigh 

s  lai^e  as  cheese-plates  (or  for  thy  dear  sake, 

earliest  of  Greek  Professors !)  but  because  of  all 

inds  of  eaters  offish,  or  flesh,  or  fowl,  in  these 

ilitudes,  the  swallower  of  oysters  alone  are  not 

regarious ;  but  subduing  themselves,  as  it  were, 

the  nature  of  what  they  work  in,  and  copying 

e  coyness  of  the  thing  they  eat,  do  sit  apart  in 

urtained  boxes,  and  consort  by  twos,  not  by  two 

undreds. 

But  how  quiet  the  streets  are  I  Are  there  no 
inerant  bands;  no  wind  or  stringed  instru- 
lentsl  No,  not  one.  By  day,  are  there  no 
unches,  Fantoccinis,  Dancing-dogs,  Jugglers, 


Conjurors,  Orchestrinas,  oreveo  Baml-or^aact 
No,  not  one.  Yes,  1  remember  one.  One  tMraafc. 
organ  and  a  dancing  monkey — ^sportive  b*  n^ 
ture,  but  tasi  fading  mtu  a  dull,  lumpish  muiiu.  r, 
of  the  Utilitarian  school.  Beyouu  that,  nuuiiuf 
lively;  no,  not  so  much  as  a  white  mouse  iu  a 
twirling  cage. 

Are  there  no  amusements  1  Yes.  There  it  a 
lecture-room  across  the  way,  from  which  that 
glare  of  light  proceeds,  and  there  may  be  evening 
service  for  the  ladies  thrice  a  week,  or  ofteuer. 
For  the  yoimg  gentlemen,  there  is  the  counting* 
house,  Uie  storu,  the  bar-room :  the  latter,  as  yon 
may  see  through  these  windows,  pretty  fulL 
Hark  I  to  the  clicking  sound  of  hammers  break- 
ing lumps  ol'  ice,  and  to  the  cool  gurgling  of  the 
pounded  bits,  as,  in  the  process  of  mixing,  they 
are  poured  from  glass  to  glass!  No  amuse* 
ments  1  What  are  tliese  suckers  of  cigars  and 
s wallowers  of  strong  drinks,  whose  hats  and  legs 
we  see  in  everv  possible  variety  of  twist,  doing; 
but  amusing  themselves?  What  are  the  filtf 
newspapers,  which  those  precocious  urchins  art 
bawling  down  the  street,  and  which  are  kept  filed 
within,  what  are  they  but  amusements  1  Not 
vapid  waterish  amusements,  but  good  strong 
stuff;  dealing  in  round  abuse  and  blackguani 
names ;  pulling  off  the  roofs  of  private  huuaeL 
as  the  Halting  Devil  did  in  Spain ;  pimping  and 
pandering  for  all  degrees  of  vicious  taste,  and 
gorging  with  coined  lies  the  must  voracious 
maw ;  imputing  to  every  man  in  public  life  th« 
coarsest  and  the  vilest  motives;  scaring  away 
from  the  stabbed  and  prostrate  body-politic,  every 
Samaritan  of  clear  conscience  and  good  deeds  { 
and  setting  on,  with  yell  and  whistle  and  the 
clapfMng  of  foul  hands,  the  vilest  vermin  and 
worst  birds  of  prey. — No  amusements  I 

Let  us  go  on  again ;  and  passing  this  wilder* 
ness  of  a  hotel  with  stores  about  its  base,  like 
some  continental  theatre,  or  the  London  Opera 
House  shorn  of  its  colonnade,  plunge  into  the 
Five  P<^ints.  But  it  is  needful,  first,  that  we 
take  as  our  escort  these  two  heads  of  the  police^ 
whom  you  would  know  for  sharp  and  well-traits 
ed  officers  if  you  met  them  in  the  Great  DeserL 
So  true  it  is,  that  certain  pursuits,  wherever  car* 
ried  on,  will  stamp  men  with  the  same  character. 
These  two  might  nave  been  begotten,  bom,  and 
bred,  in  Bow  Street. 

We  have  seen  no  be^ars  in  the  streets  by 
night  or  day ;  but  of  other  kind  of  strollers,  plen- 
ty. Poverty,  wretchedness,  and  vice,  are  rife 
enough  where  we  are  going  now. 

This  is  the  place:  these  narrow  ways,  di- 
vei^ing  to  the  right  and  left,  and  reeking  every* 
where  with  dirt  and  filth.  Such  lives  as  are  led 
here,  bear  the  same  fruits  here  as  elsewhere. 
The  coarse  and  bloated  faces  at  the  doors,  have 
counterparts  at  home,  and  all  the  wide  world 
over.  Debauchery  has  made  the  very  hoases 
prematurely  old.  See  how  the  rotten  beams  are 
tumbling  down,  and  how  the  patched  and  bro- 
ken windows  seem  to  scowl  dimly,  like  eyes 
that  have  been  hurt  in  drunken  frays.  Many 
of  those  pigs  live  here.  Do  they  ever  wonder 
why  their  masters  walk  upright  in  lieu  of  gonig 
on  all  fours  1  and  why  they  talk  instead  of  grunt- 
ing 1 

So  far,  nearly  every  house  is  a  low  tavern ; 
and  on  the  bar-room  walls,  are  coloured  prints 
of  Washington,  and  Clueen  Victoria  of  England, 
and  the  Amerioan  Eagle.  Among  the  pigeon- 
holes that  hold  the  bottles,  are  pieces  of  plate- 
glass  and  coloured  paper,  for  there  is,  in  some 


NOTES  ON   AMERICA. 


sort,  a  taste  for  decoration,  eren  here.  And  as 
teamen  Trequent  these  haunts,  there  are  mari- 
time pictures  by  the  dozen :  of  partings  between 
tailors  and  their  ludy-ioves,  por  raits  of  Will- 
iam, of  the  ballad,  and  his  Black-Eyed  Su- 
tan;  of  Will  Watch,  the  Bold  Smuggler;  of 
Paul  Jones  the  Pirate,  and  the  like:  on  which 
the  painted  eyes  of  Clueen  Victoria,  and  of 
W  ashington  to  boot,  rest  in  as  strange  compan- 
ionship, as  on  most  of  the  scenes  that  are  enact- 
ed in  their  wondering  presence. 

What  place  isthi.s,  to  which  the  squalid  street 
conducts  usi  A  kind  of  square  of  leprous  hou- 
ses, some  of  which  are  attainable  only  by  crazy 
wooden  stairs  without.  What  lies  beyond  this 
tottering  flight  of  steps,  that  creak  beneath  our 
tread  1  a  miserable  room,  lighted  by  one  dim 
candle,  and  destitute  of  all  comibrt.  save  that 
which  may  be  hidden  in  a  wretched  bed.  Be- 
tide it,  sits  a  man :  his  elbows  on  his  knees :  his 
forehead  hidden  in  his  hands.  "  What  ails  that 
man  I"  asks  the  foremost  officer.  "  Fever," 
he  sullenly  replies,  without  looking  up.  Con- 
ceive the  fancies  of  a  levered  brain,  in  such  a 
place  as  this ! 

Ascend  these  pitch-dark  stairs,  heedful  of  a 
false  footing  on  the  trembling  boards,  and  grope 
your  way  with  me  into  this  wolfish  den,  where 
neither  ray  of  light  nor  breath  of  air,  appears  to 
come.  A  negro  lad,  stariled  from  his  sleep  by 
the  officer's  voice — he  knows  it  well — but  com- 
forted by  his  assurance  that  he  has  not  come  on 
business,  officiously  bestirs  himself  to  light  a 
candle.  The  match  flickers  for  a  moment,  and 
shows  great  mounds   of  dusky  rags  upon  the 

f round;  then  dies  away  and  leaves  a  denser 
arkness  than  before,  if  there  can  be  degrees  in 
such  extremes.  He  stumbles  down  the  stairs 
and  presently  comes  back,  shading  a  flaring  ta- 
per with  ins  hand.  Then  the  mounds  of  rags 
are  seen  to  be  astir,  and  rise  slowly  up,  and  the 
floor  is  covered  with  heaps  of  negro  women, 
waking  from  their  sleep :  their  while  teeth  chat- 
tering, and  their  bright  eyes  glistening  and 
winking  on  all  sides  with  surprise  and  fear,  like 
Uie  countless  repetition  of  one  astonished  Afri- 
can face  in  some  strange  mirror. 

Mount  up  these  other  stairs  with  no  less  cau- 
tion (there  are  traps  and  pitfalls  here,  for  those 
who  are  not  so  well  escorted  as  ourselves)  into 
the  housetop:  where  the  bare  beams  and  rafters 
meet  over-head,  and  calm  night  looks  down 
through  the  crevices  in  the  roof.  Open  the  door 
of  one  of  these  cramped  hutches  full  of  sleeping 
negroes.  Pah!  They  have  a  charcoal  fire 
within ;  there  is  a  smell  of  singeing  clothes,  or 
flesh,  so  close  they  gather  round  the  brazier; 
and  vapours  issue  forth  that  blind  and  suffocate. 
From  every  corner,  as  you  glance  about  you  in 
these  dark  retreats,  some  figure  crawls  hali  awa- 
kened, as  if  the  judgment-hour  were  near  at 
hand,  and  every  obscene  grave  were  giving  up 
its  dead.  Where  dogs  would  howl  to  lie,  wom- 
en, and  men,  and  boys  slink  ofi"  to  sleep,  for- 
cing the  dislodged  rats  to  move  away  in  quest 
of  i)etter  lodgings. 

Here  loo  are  lanes  and  alleys,  paved  with 
mud  knee-deep :  underground  chambers,  where 
they  dance  and  game;  the  walls  bedecked  with 
rough  designs  of  ships,  and  forts,  and  flags,  and 
American  Eagles  out  of  number :  ruined  hou- 
ses, open  to  the  streets,  whence  through  wide 
gaps  in  the  walls,  other  ruins  loom  upon  the 
eye,  as  though  the  world  of  vice  and  misery  had 


nothing  else  to  ahow :  hideooi  tenemento  whirt 
take  their  name  from  robbery  and  murder:  all 
that  is  loathsome,  drooping,  and  decayed  it 
here. 

Our  leader  has  his  hand  upon  the  latch  of 
"  Almack's,"  and  calls  to  us  from  the  bottom  ol 
the  step:>:  for  the  (i  cmbly-room  of  the  Five- 
Point  fashionables  ih  approached  by  a  descent 
Shall  we  go  in  1    It  is  but  a  moment. 

Heyday  I  the  landlady  of  Almack's  thrives ! 
A  buxom  fat  mulatto  woman,  with  sparkling 
eyes,  whose  head  is  daintily  ornamented  with  a 
handkerchief  of  many  colours.  Nor  is  the  land- 
lord much  behind  her  in  his  finery,  being  attired 
in  a  smart  blue  jacket,  like  a  ship's  steward, 
with  a  thick  gold  ring  upon  his  little  finger,  and 
round  his  neck  a  gleaming  golden  watch-guard. 
How  glad  he  is  to  see  us  I  What  will  we  please 
to  call  for  1  A  dance  1  It  shall  be  done  directly, 
sir :  "  a  regular  break-down." 

The  corpulent  black  fiddler,  and  hia  friend 
who  plays  tlie  tambourine,  stamp  upon  the  board- 
ing of  the  small  raised  orchestra  in  which  they 
sit,  and  play  a  lively  measure.  Five  or  six 
couple  come  upon  the  floor,  marshalled  by  a  live- 
ly young  negro,  who  is  the  wit  of  the  assembly, 
and  the  greatest  dancer  known.  He  never 
leaves  off  making  queer  faces,  and  is  the  delight 
of  all  the  rest,  who  grin  from  ear  to  ear  inces- 
santly. Among  the  dancers  are  two  young  mu- 
latto girls,  with  large,  black,  drooping  eyes,  and 
head-gear  after  the  fashion  of  the  hostess,  who 
are  as  shy  or  feign  to  be,  as  though  they  never 
danced  before,  and  so  look  down  before  the  visi- 
ters, that  their  partners  can  see  nothing  but  the 
long  fringed  lashes. 

But  the  dance  commences.  Every  gentleman 
sets  as  long  as  he  likes  to  the  opposite  lady,  and 
the  opposite  lady  to  him,  and  all  are  so  long  about 
it  that  the  sport  begins  to  languish,  when  sud- 
denly the  lively  hero  dashes  in  to  the  rescue. 
Instantly  the  fiadler  grins,  and  goes  at  it  tooth 
and  nail ;  there  is  new  energy  in  the  tambourine ; 
new  laughter  in  the  dancers ;  new  smiles  in  the 
landlady ;  new  confidence  in  the  landlord ;  nevi 
brightness  in  the  very  candles.  Single  shuffle, 
double  shnflle,  cm  and  cross-cut :  snapping  his 
fingers,  rolling  his  eyes,  turning  in  his  knees, 
presenting  the  backs  of  his  legs  in  front,  spinning 
about  on  his  toes  and  heels  like  nothing  but  the 
man's  fingers  on  the  tambourine ;  dancing  with 
two  left  legs,  two  right  legs,  two  wooden  legs, 
two  wire  legs,  two  spring  legs — all  sorts  of  legs 
and  no  legs — what  is  this  to  him  1  And  in  what 
walk  of  life,  or  dance  of  life,  does  man  ever  get 
such  stimulating  applause  as  thunders  about  him, 
when,  having  danced  his  partner  ofi"  her  feet, 
and  him.self  too,  he  finishes  by  leaping  gloriously 
on  the  bar-counter,  and  calling  for  something  to 
drink,  with  the  chuckle  of  a  million  of  counter- 
feit Jim  Crows,  in  one  inimitable  sound  I 

The  air,  even  in  these  distempered  parts,  is 
fresh  after  the  stifling  atmosphere  of  the  houses; 
and  now,  as  we  emerge  into  a  broader  street,  it 
blows  upon  us  with  a  purer  breath,  and  the  stars 
look  bright  again.  Here  are  The  Tombs  once 
more.  The  city  watch-house  is  a  part  of  the 
building.  It  follows  n.iturally  on  the  sights 
we  have  just  left.  Let  us  see  that,  and  then  to 
bed. 

What !  do  you  thrust  your  common  offenders 
against  the  police  discipline  of  the  town,  intc 
such  holes  as  these  1  Do  men  and  women, 
against  whom  no  crime  is  proved,  lie  here  all 


it  in  p4 
isome  va 
mp  you  li| 
,d  onensiv 
sgusting  d 
sgrace  up 
orld  I  Lo 
ery  night 
hat  they  a 
lade  belov 
lan  sewen 

t1 

Well,  he 

'enty  yooi 

t  one  time, 

ime  faces 

In  God's  I 

I  creature 

ifore  a  pla 

sglect,  anc 

urope. 

Are  peop 

ose  black 

t  at  seve 

>ens  his  c< 

e  earliest 

!  released ; 

t  is  not  tal 

any  one 

le  man  di 

iten  by  th< 

as ;  and  tl 

What  is  1 

id  crashin 

ncel    A 

the  oppo 

at  these  < 

bre  1    A 

more  t 

g  ago,  tl 

I  wholly 

terprise 

les:  bui 

lust  night,  I 

||y  an  ever 

Morrow. 

irt,  let  us  I 

bed. 

One  day, 
visit  to  th 
land.  Oi 
he  buildi 
raspacio 
ructure  is 
'  consider 
ccommod 
I  cannot 


|iey  were 
ess  and 

dll,  drear 
kst  on  bi 
^cked  up 

.  oommit 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


ST 


IS  tenement!  whink 
7  and  murder:  all 
;,  and  decayed  U 

upon  the  latch  of 
from  the  bottom  of 
room  of  the  Five- 
ched  by  a  deecent 
moment. 

Almack's  thrives! 
in,  with  sparkling 
ornamented  with  a 
Nor  is  the  land- 
Inery,  being  attired 
!  a  ship's  steward 
>is  little  finger,  and 
olden  watch-guard, 
i^hat  will  we  please 
ill  be  done  directly, 

er,  and  hie  friend 
mp  upon  the  board- 
istr^  m  which  they 
sure.  Five  or  six 
arshalled  by  a  live- 
rit  of  the  assembly, 
nown.  He  never 
i,  and  is  the  delight 
n  ear  to  ear  inces- 
are  two  young  mu- 
drooping  eyes,  and 
»f  the  hostess,  who 
though  they  never 
own  before  the  visi- 
see  nothing  but  the 

Every  gentleman 
i  opposite  lady,  and 
all  are  so  long  about 
anguish,  when  sud- 
s  in  to  the  rescue, 
nd  goes  at  it  tooth 
r  in  the  tambourine ; 
;  new  smiles  in  the 
I  the  landlord;  ne\f 
les.  Single  shuffie, 
^cut:  snapping  his 
ming  in  his  knees, 
gs  in  front,  spinning 
like  nothing  but  the 
trine ;  dancing  with 
I,  two  wooden  legs, 
"s — all  sorts  of  legs 
nim  1  And  in  what 
,  does  man  ever  get 
thunders  about  him, 
lartner  off  her  feet, 
(T  leaping  gloriously 
ng  for  sometbing  to 
million  of  counter- 
table  sound  I 
stempered  parts,  is 
phere  of  the  houses ; 
a  broader  street,  it 
>reath,and  the  stars 
e  The  Tombs  once 
se  is  a  part  of  the 
ally  on  the  sights 
>e  that,  and  then  to 

r  common  offenders 

!  of  the  town,  inlc 

men  and  women, 

proved,  lie  here  all ' 


,^t  in  ptrfect  darknen,  sarroaoded  by  the 
iiome  vapours  which  encircle  that  flagging 
mp  you  light  vta  with,  and  breathing  this  tilthy 
td  offensive  stench  I  Why,  such  indecent  and 
sgusting  dungeons  as  the»e  cells,  would  bring 
sgrace  upon  the  most  despotic  empire  in  the 
orld  I  Look  at  them,  man — you,  who  see  them 
ery  night,  and  keep  the  keys.  Do  you  see 
hat  they  are  1  Do  you  know  how  drains  are 
ade  below  the  streets,  and  wherein  these  bu- 
an  sewers  differ,  except  in  being  always  stag- 

t1 
Well,  he  don't  know.    He  has  had  five-and- 
'enty  young  women  locked  up  in  this  verv  cell 
one  time,  and  you'd  hardly  realize  what  hand- 
)me  faces  there  were  among  'em. 
In  God's  name  I  shut  the  door  upon  the  wretch- 
1  creature  who  is  in  it  now,  ana  put  its  screen 
fore  a  place,  quite  unsurpassed  in  all  the  vice, 
iglect,  and  devilry,  of  the  worst  old  town  in 
urope. 

Are  people  really  left  all  night,  untried,  in 
LOse  black  sties  1 — Every  night.  The  watch  is 
!t  at  seven  in  the  evening.  The  magistrate 
>ens  his  court  at  five  in  the  morning.  That  is 
e  earliest  hour  at  which  the  first  prisoner  can 
i  released :  and  if  an  officer  appear  against  him, 
!  is  not  taken  out  till  nine  o'clock  or  ten. — But 
any  one  among  them  die  in  the  interval,  as 
le  man  did,  not  long  ago  1  Then  he  is  half 
tten  by  the  rats  in  an  hour's  time ;  as  that  man 
as;  and  there  an  end. 

What  is  this  intolerable  tolling  of  great  bells, 

id  crashing  of  wheels,  and  shouting  in  the  dis- 

nce  1    A  fire.    And  what  that  deep  red  light 

the  opposite  direction  1    Another  fire.*^  And 

at  these  charred  and  blackened  walls  we  stand 

bre  1    A  dwelling  where  a  fire  has  been.    It 

more  than  hinted,  in  an  official  report,  not 

g  ago,  that  some  of  these  conflagrations  were 

t  wholly  accidental,  and  that  speculation  and 

terprise  found  a  field  of  exertion,  even  in 

jmes:  but  be  this  as  it  may,  there  was  a  fire 

Sst  night,  there  are  two  to-night,  and  you  may 
y  an  even  wager  there  will  be  at  least  one,  to- 
iporrow.    So,  carrying  that  with  us  for  our  com- 
rt,  let  OS  say.  Good  night,  and  climb  up  stairs 
bed. 


One  day,  during  my  stay  in  New- York,  I  paid 
visit  to  uie  different  public  institutions  on  Long 
iland.  One  of  them  is  a  Lunatic  Asylum, 
he  building  is  handsome;  and  is  remarkable 
ir  a  spacious  and  elegant  staircase.  The  whole 
Picture  is  not  yet  finished,  but  it  is  already  one 
'  considerable  size  and  extent,  and  is  capable  of 
scommodatin^  a  verv  large  number  of  patients. 
I  cannot  say  that  I  derived  much  comfort  from 
le  inspection  of  this  charity.  The  differ  t 
ards  might  have  been  cleaner  and  bet'  ' 
ered;  I  saw  nothing  of  that  salutar  y&. 
hich  had  impressed  me  so  favour  e 
here;  and  everything  had  a  lounging  less, 
adhouse  air,  which  was  very  painlui  The 
oping  idiot,  cowering  down  with  long  dishev- 
led  hair;  the  gibbering  maniac,  with  his  hide- 
i>  laugh  and  pointed  finger ;  the  vacant  eye, 
e  fierce  wild  lace,  the  gloomy  picking  of  the 
mds  and  lips,  and  munching  of  the  nails :  there 
ey  were  all,  without  disguise,  in  naked  ugli- 
ss  and  horror.    In  the  dining-room,  a  bare, 

11,  dreary  place,  with  nothing  for  the  eye  to 
!St  on  but  the  empty  walls,  a  woman  was 
eked  up  alone.    She  was  bent,  they  told  me, 

committing  suicide.    If  anything  could  have 


strengthened  her  in  her  resolution,  it  would  cer- 
tainly have  b«*cn  the  insupportable  monotony  of 
such  an  existence. 

The  terrible  crowd  with  which  these  halls 
and  galleries  were  filled,  so  shocked  me,  that  I 
abridged  my  stay  within  the  shortest  limits,  and 
declined  to  sec  that  portion  of  the  building  in 
which  the  refractory  and  violent  were  under 
closer  restraint.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  gen- 
tleman who  presided  over  this  establishment  at 
the  time  I  write  of,  was  competent  to  manage  il, 
and  had  done  all  in  his  power  to  promote  its  use- 
fulness :  but  will  it  be  believed  that  the  miserable 
strife  of  Party  feeling  is  carried  even  into  this 
sad  refuge  of  afflicted  and  degraded  humanity  1 
Will  it  be  believed  that  the  eyes  which  are  to 
watch  over  and  control  the  wanderings  of 
minds  on  which  the  most  dreadful  visitation  to 
which  our  nature  is  exposed  has  fallen,  most 
wear  the  glasses  of  some  wretched  side  in  Poli- 
tics 1  Will  it  be  believed  that  the  governor  of 
such  a  house  as  this,  is  appointed,  and  deposed, 
and  changed  perpetually,  as  Parties  fluctuate 
and  vary,  and  as  their  despicable  weathercocks 
are  blown  this  way  or  that  1  A  hundred  times 
in  every  week,  some  new  most  paltry  exhibition 
of  that  narrow-minded  and  injunous  Party  SpiriL 
which  is  the  Simoom  of  America,  sickening  ana 
blighting  everything  of  wholesome  life  within  its 
reach,  was  forced  upon  my  notice ;  but  I  never 
turned  my  back  upon  it  with  feelings  of  such 
deep  disgust  and  measureless  contempt,  as  when 
I  crossed  the  threshold  of  this  maa-house  on 
Long  Island. 

At  a  short  distance  from  this  building  is  an- 
other called  the  Alms  House,  that  is  to  say,  the 
workhouse  of  New- York.  This  is  a  large  Insti- 
tution also :  lodging,  I  believe,  when  I  was  there, 
nearly  a  thousand  poor.  It  was  badly  ventila- 
ted, and  badly  lighted ;  was  not  too  clean ;  and 
impressed  me,  on  the  whole,  very  uncomfortably. 
But  it  must  be  remembered  that  New- York,  as 
a  great  emporium  of  commerce,  and  as  a  place 
of  general  resort,  not  only  from  all  parts  of  the 
States,  but  from  most  parts  of  the  world,  has 
always  a  large  pauper  population  to  provide  for; 
and  labours,  therefore,  under  peculiar  difficulties 
in  this  respect.  Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that 
New-Y  k  is  a  large  town,  and  that  in  all  lai;ge 
towns  u  .ast  amount  of  good  and  evil  is  inter- 
mixed and  jumbled  up  together.' 

In  the  same  neighbourhood,is  the  Long  Island 
Farm,  where  young  orphans  are  nursed  and  bred. 
1>Vh\  not  see  it,  but  I  believe  it  is  well  conducted; 
a  ;d  I  can  the  more  easily  credit  it,  from  know- 
'ng  how  mindful  they  usually  are,  in  America, 
oi  that  beautiful  passage  in  the  Litany  which  re- 
members all  sick  persons  and  young  children. 

I  was  taken  to  tnese  Institutions' by  water,  in 
a  boat  belonging  to  the  Long  Island  Jail,  and 
rowed  by  a  crew  of  prisoners,  who  were  dressed 
in  a  striped  uniform  of  black  and  buff,  in  which 
they  looked  like  faded  tigers.  They  took  me  by 
the  same  conveyance,  to  the  jail  itself. 

It  is  an  old  prison,  and  quite  a  pioneer  estab- 
lishment, on  the  plan  I  have  already  described. 
I  was  glad  to  hear  this,  for  it  is  unquestionably 
a  very  indifferent  one.  The  most  is  made,  how- 
ever, of  the  means  it  possesses,  and  it  is  as  well 
regulated  as  such  a  place  can  be. 

The  women  work  in  covered  sheds,  erected  for 
that  purpose.  If  I  remember  right,  there  are  no 
shops  fo'r  the  men,  but  be  that  as  it  may,  the 
greater  part  of  them  labour  in  certain  stone- 
quarries  near  at  hand.    The  day  being  very  wet 


88 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


indeed,  this  labour  was  suspended,  an4  the  pris- 
oners were  in  their  cells.  Imagine  these  cells, 
some  two  or  three  hundred  in  number,  and  in 
every  one  a  man,  locked  up :  this  one  at  the  door 
for  air,  with  his  hands  thrust  through  the  grate ; 
ttus  one  in  bed  (in  the  middle  of  the  day,  remem- 
ber); and  this  one  flung  down  in  a  heap  upon  the 
ground,  with  his  head  against  the  bars  like  a  wild 
beast.  Make  the  rain  pour  down,  outside,  in 
lorrents.  Put  the  everlasting  stove  in  the  midst : 
'lot,  and  suffocating,  and  vaporous,  as  a  witch's 
ealdron.  Add  a  collection  of  gentle  odours, 
such  as  would  arise  from  a  thousand  mildewed 
trabrellas  wet  through,  and  a  thousand  buck- 
haskets  full  of  half-washed  linen ;  and  there  is 
the  prison  as  it  was  that  day. 

The  prison  for  the  state  at  Sing  Sing,  is,  on  the 
Mher  hand,  a  model  jail.  That,  and  Mount 
Auburn,  are  the  largest  and  best  examples  of  the 
silent  system. 

In  another  part  of  the  city,  is  the  Refuge  for 
the  Destitute :  an  institution  whose  object  is  to 
reclaim  youthful  offenders,  male  and[  female, 
black  and  white,  without  distinction;  to  teach 
them  useful  trades,  apprentice  them  to  respecta- 
ble masters,  and  make  them  worthy  members  of 
society.  Its  design,  it  will  be  seen,  is  similar  to 
that  at  Boston ;  and  it  is  a  no  less  meritorious 
and  admirable  establishment.  A  suspicion  cross- 
ed my  mind  during  my  inspection  of  this  noble 
charity,  whether  the  superintendent  had  quite 
snlficient  knowledge  of  the  world  and  wordly 
characters;  and  wnether  he  did  not  commit  a 
great  mistake  in  treating  ome  young  girls,  who 
•were  to  all  intent  and  purposes,  by  their  years 
and  their  past  lives,  women,  as  though  they  were 
little  children ;  which  certainly  had  a  ludicrous 
effect  in  my  eyes,  and.  or  I  am  much  mistaken, 
in  theirs  also.  As  the  institution,  however,  is 
always  under  the  vigilant  examination  of  a  body 
of  gentlemen  of  great  intelligence  and  experi- 
ence, it  cannot  fail  to  be  well-conducted ;  and 
whether  I  am  right  or  wrong  in  this  slight  par- 
ticular, is  unimportant  to  its  desert;^  and  charac- 
ter, which  it  would  be  too  difficult  to  estimate 
t«o  highl;^. 

In  addition  to  these  establishment,  there  are, 
in  New- York,  excellent  hospitals  and  schools, 
Uleraiy  institutions  and  libraries ;  an  admirable 
fire  department  (as  indeed  it  should  be,  having 
constant  practice),  and  charities  of  every  sort 
and  kind.  In  the  suburbs  there  is  a  spacious 
cemetery;  unfinished  yet,  but  every  day  impro- 
ving. The  saddest  tomb  I  saw  there  was  "  The 
Strangers'  Grave.  Dedicated  to  the  different  ho- 
t0ls,  in  this  city." 

There  are  three  theatres.  Two  of  them,  the 
Park  and  the  Bowery,  are  large,  elegant,  and 
handsome  buildings,  and  are,  I  grieve  to  write 
it,  generally  deserted.  The  third,  the  Olympic, 
i»  a  tiny  show-box  for  vaudevilles  and  bur- 
lesques. It  is  singularly  well-conducted  by  Mr. 
Mitchell,  a  comic  actor  of  great  quiet  humour 
and  originality,  who  is  well  remembered  and  es- 
teemed ^  London  playgoers.  I  am  happy  to 
report  of  this  deserving  gentleman,  that  his 
benches  are  usually  well  filled,  and  that  his  the- 
atre rings  with  merriment  every  night.  I  had 
almost  forgotten  a  small  summer  theatre,  called 
Niblo's,  with  gardens  and  open  air  amusements 
attached ;  but  I  believe  it  is  not  exempt  from  the 
general  depression  under  which  Theatrical  Prop- 
erty, or  what  is  humorously  called  by  that  name, 
unfortunately  labours. 

The  country  round  New- York,  is  surpassing- 


ly and  exquisitely  picturesque.  The  climate, 
as  I  have  already  intimated,  is  somewhat  of  the 
warmest.  What  it  would  be,  without  the  sea 
breezes  which  come  from  its  beautiful  bay  in  the 
evening  time,  I  will  not  throw  myself  or  my 
readers  into  a  fever  by  inquiring. 

The  tone  of  the  best  society  in  this  city,  is 
like  that  of  Boston ;  here  and  there  it  maybe, 
with  a  greater  infusion  of  the  mercantile  spirit, 
hut  generally  polished  and  refined,  and  always 
most  hospitable.  The  houses  and  tables  are  el- 
egant; the  hours  later  and  more  rakish;  and 
there  is  perhaps,  a  greater  spirit  of  contention  in 
reference  to  appearances,  and  the  display  of 
wealth  and  costly  living.  The  ladies  are  singu- 
larly beautiful. 

Before  I  left  New- York  I  made  arrangements 
for  securing  a  passage  home  in  the  George 
Washington  packet-ship,  which  was  advertised 
to  sail  in  June :  that  being  the  month  in  which 
I  had  determined,  if  prevented  by  no  accident  in 
the  course  of  my  ramblings,  to  leave  America. 

I  never  thought  that  going  back  to  England, 
returning  to  all  who  are  dear  to  me,  and  to  pur- 
suits that  have  insensibly  grown  to  be  a  part  of 
my  nature,  I  could  have  felt  so  much  sorrow  as 
I  endured,  when  I  parted  at  last,  on  board  this 
ship,  with  the  friends  who  had  accompanied  me 
from  this  city.  I  never  thought  the  name  of  any 
place,  so  far  away  and  so  lately  known,  could 
ever  associate  itself  in  my  mind  with  the  crowd 
of  affectionate  remembrances  that  now  cluster 
about  it.  There  are  those  in  this  city  who  would 
brighten  to  me,  the  darkest  winter-day  that  ever 
glinimered  and  went  out  in  Lapland ;  and  before 
whose  presence  even  Home  grew  dim,when  they 
and  I  exchanged  that  painful  word  which  min- 
gles with  our  every  thought  and  deed;  which 
haunts  our  cradle-heads  in  infancy,  and  closer 
up  the  vista  of  our  lives  in  age. 


CHAPTER  VIL 

PHILADELPHIA,  AND  ITS  SOLITARY   PRISON. 

The  journey  from  New-York  to  Philadelphia 

is  made  by  railroad  and  two  ferries ;  and  usually 
occupies  between  five  and  six  hours.  It  was  a  fine 
evening  when  we  were  passengers  in  the  train : 
and,  watching  the  bright  sunset  from  a  little  win- 
dow near  the  door  by  which  we  sat,  my  attention 
was  attracted  to  a  remarkable  appearance  issu- 
ing from  the  windows  c^'  'he  gentlemen's  car  im- 
mediately in  front  of  us,  which  I  supposed  for  some 
time  was  occasioned  by  a  number  of  industrious 
persons  inside  ripping  open  feather-beds,  and  giv- 
ing the  feathers  to  the  wind.  At  length  it  occur- 
red to  me  that  they  were  only  spitting,  which  was 
indeed  the  case,  though  how  any  number  of  pas- 
sengers which  it  was  possible  for  that  car  to  con- 
tain could  have  maintained  such  a  playful  and 
incessant  shnwer  of  expectoration,  I  am  still  at 
a  loss  to  understand,  notwithstanding  the  experi- 
ence in  all  salivatory  phenomena  which  I  after- 
ward acquired. 

I  made  acquaintance  on  this  journey  i^dth  a 
mild  and  modest  young  duaker,  who  opened  the 
discourse  by  informing  me,  in  a  grave  whisper, 
that  his  grandfather  was  the  inventor  of  cold- 
drawn  castor  oil.  I  mention  this  circumstance 
here,  thinking  it  probable  that  this  is  the  first  oc- 
casion on  which  the  valuable  medicine  in  ques- 
tion was  ever  used  as  a  conversational  aperient 

We  reached  the  city  late  that  night,    tooking 


en. 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


The  ciimatp, 

prnewhat  of  the 

k^ithout  the  sea 

utiful  bay  in  the 

myself  or  my 

Jin  this  city,  is 
Ihere  it  maybe, 
lercantile  spirit, 
td,  and  always 
Id  tables  are  el- 
Ire  rakish;  and 
Jof  contention  in 
■the  display  of 
vdies  are  singu- 

arrangements 

in  the  George 

[was  advertised 

lonth  in  which 

no  accident  in 

ave  America. 

:k  to  England, 

le,  and  to  pur- 

to  be  a  part  of 

inch  sorrow  as 

,  on  board  this 

:companied  me 

he  name  of  any 

'■  known,  conld 

with  the  crowd 

at  now  cluster 

city  who  would 

r-day  that  ever 

M;  and  before 

dim.when  they 

)rd  which  min- 

d  deed;  which 

icy,  and  closer 


RT  PRISON. 

E>  Philadelphia 
i;  and  usually 
».  It  was  a  fine 
>m  the  train: 
m  a  little  win- 
t,  my  attention 
>earance  issn- 
men's  car  im- 
posed for  some 
of  industrious 
beds,  and  giv- 
Dgth  it  occur- 
ig,  which  was 
imberofpas- 
atcarto  con- 
playful  and 
I  am  still  at 
P  the  experi- 
^hich  I  afler- 

imey  with  a 
0  opened  the 
ive  whisper, 
tor  of  cold- 
ircumstance 
the  iirst  oc- 
ine  in  ques- 
lal  aperient. 
'-    Looking 


out  of  my  chamber  window,  before  going  to  bed, 
I  saw,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  way,  a  hand- 
some t)uilding  of  wnite  marble,  which  had  a 
mourni'ul,  ghostlike  aspect,  dieary  to  behold.  1 
attributed  uiis  to  the  soinore  influence  of  the  night, 
and  on  rising  in  the  morning,  looked  out  again, 
expecting  to  see  its  steps  and  portico  thronged 
with  groups  of  people  passing  in  and  out.  'i'he 
door  was  still  tight  siiut,  iiowever ;  the  same  cold, 
cheerless  air  prevailed ;  and  the  buildidg  looked 
as  if  the  marule  statue  of  Don  Guzman  could 
alone  have  any  business  to  transact  within  its 
gloomy  walls.  I  hastened  to  inquire  its  name 
and  purpose,  and  tht'Q  my  surprise  vanished.  It 
was  tlie  tomb  of  many  tbftunes,  the  great  cata- 
comb of  investment,  the  United  States  Bank. 

The  stoppage  of  this  bank,  with  all  its  ruinous 
consequences,  had  cast  (as  1  was  told  on  every 
side)  a  gloom  on  Philadelphia,  under  the  depress- 
ing effect  of  which  it  yet  laboured.  It  certainly 
did  seem  rather  dull  and  out  of  spirits. 

It  is  a  handsome  city,  but  distractingly  regular. 
Afler  walking  about  it  for  an  hour  or  two,  I  felt 
that  I  would  have  given  the  world  lor  a  crooked 
street.  The  collai-  of  my  coat  appeared  to  stiff- 
en, and  the  britn  uf  my  hat  to  expand,  beneath 
its  Q,uakerly  influence.  My  hair  shrunk  into  a 
sleek,  short  croo,  ^z  hands  folded  themselves 
upon  my  brea."  of  t'leir  own  calm  accord,  and 
thoughts  of  tak  'i'^  ]  idgings  in  Mark  Lane,  over 
against  the  Mart..  Ji-place,  and  of  making  a  large 
•  fortune  by  speculations  in  com,  came  over  me 
involnntarilv. 

Philadelphia  is  most  bountifully  provided  with 
fresh  water,  which  is  showered  and  jerked  about, 
and  turned  on,  and  poured  off  everywhere.  The 
Waterworks,  wliicn  are  on  a  height  near  the  city, 
are  no  less  ornamental  than  useful,  being  taste- 
fully laid  out  as  a  public  garden,  and  kept  in  die 
best  and  neatest  omer.  The  river  is  dammed  at 
this  point,  and  forced  by  its  own  power  into  cer- 
tain nigh  tanks  or  reservoirs,  whence  the  whole 
city,  to  top  stories  of  the  houses,  is  supplied  at 
a  very  trifling  expense. 

There  are  various  public  institutions.  Among 
tiiem  a  most  excellent  hospital— a  daakcr  es- 
tablishment, but  not  sectarian  in  the  great  bene- 
Ifits  it  confers;  a  quiet,  quaint  old  library,  named 
after  Franklin ;  a  handsome  exchange  and  post- 
office,  and  so  forth.  In  connexion  with  the  Uua- 
ker  hospital,  there  is  a  picture  by  West,  which  is 
-exhibited  for  the  beneiit  of  the  funds  of  the  insti- 
tation;  The  subject  is  our  Saviour  healing  the 
sick,  and  it  is,  perhaps,  as  favourable  a  speci- 
men of  (he  master  as  can  be  seen  anywhere. 
Whether  tliis  be  high  or  low  praise  depends  upon 
the  reader's  taste. 

In  the  same  room  'here  is  a  very  characteris- 
tic and  lifelike  portrait  by  Mr.  Sully,  a  distin- 
guished American  artist. 

My  stay  in  Philadelphia  was  very  short,  but 
what  I  saw  of  its  society  I  greatly  liked.  Treat- 
ing of  its  general  characteristics,  I  should  be  dis- 
posed to  say  that  it  is  more  provincial  than  Bos- 
ton or  New- York,  and  that  there  is  afloat  in  the 
fair  city  an  assumption  of  taste  and  criticism, 
eavonring  rather  of  those  genteel  discussions 
upon  the  same  themes,  in  connexion  withShaks- 
poare  and  the  musical  glasses,  of  which  we  read 
in  the  Vicar  of  Wakefield.  Near  the  city  is  a 
mt»et  splendid  unfinished  marble  structure  for  the 
Girard  Colle;  ?,  founded  by  a  deceased  gentle- 
man of  that  name  and  of  enormous  wealth,  which, 
if  completed  according  to  the  original  design,  will 
>  ee  perhaps  the  richest  edifice  of  modem  times. 


But  the  bequest  is  involved  in  legal  disputes,  and 
pending  them  the  work  has  stopped ;  so  tliat,  like 
many  other  great  undertakings  in  America,  even 
this  is  rather  going  to  be  done  one  of  these  days 
than  doing  now. 

In  the  outskirts  stands  a  great  prison,  called 
the  Eastern  Penitentiary:  conducted  on  a  pl;in 
peculiar  to  the  state  of  Pennsylvania.  'I'he  sys- 
tem here  is  rigid,  strict,  ami  hopeless  solitary  cuu- 
finement.  I  believe  it,  in  its  eliects,  to  be  cruel 
and  wrong. 

In  its  intention,  I  am  well  convinced  that  it  is 
kind,  humane,  and  meant  for  reformution  ;  but  I 
a)n  persuaded  tliat  those  who  devised  this  system 
of  prison  discipline,  and  those  benevolent  gentle- 
men who  cany  it  into  execution,  do  not  know 
what  it  is  that  they  are  doing.  I  believe  that 
very  few  men  are  capable  of  estimating  the  im- 
mense amount  of  torture  and  agony  which  this 
dreadful  punishment,  prolonged  lor  yeais,  inflicts 
upon  the  sufferers  |  and,  in  guessing  at  it  myself, 
and  in  reasoning  irom  what  I  have  seen  written 
upon  their  faces,  and  what  to  my  certain  knowl- 
edge they  feel  within,  I  am  only  the  more  con- 
vinced that  there  is  a  depth  of  tehible  endurance 
in  it  which  none  but  the  sufferers  tliemselves  can 
fathom,  and  which  no  man  has  a  right  to  inflict 
upon  his  fellow-creature.  I  hold  this  slow  and 
daily  tampering  with  the  mysteries  of  the  brain, 
to  be  immeasurably  worse  than  any  torture  of  the 
body :  and  because  its  ghastly  signs  and  tokens 
are  not  so  palpable  to  the  eye  and  sense  of  touch 
as  scars  upon  the  flesh ;  because  its  wounds  are 
not  upon  tne  surface,  and  it  extorts  few  cries  that 
human  ears  can  hear;  therefore  I  the  more  de- 
nounce it,  as  a  secret  ptmishment  which  slumber- 
ing humanity  is  not  roused  up  to  stay.  I  hesita- 
ted once,  debating  with  myself,  whether,  if  I  had 
the  power  of  saving  "  Yes"  or  "  No,"  I  would  al- 
low it  to  be  tried  in  certain  cases,  where  the  terms 
of  imprisonment  were  short :  but  now  I  solemnly 
declare,  that  with  no  rewank  or  honours  could  I 
walk  a  happy  man  beneath  the  open  sky  by  day, 
or  lie  me  down  upon  my  bed  at  night,  with  the 
consciousness  that  one  human  creature,  for  any 
length  of  time,  no  matter  what,  lay  suffering  this 
unknown  punishment  in  his  silent  cell,  and  I  the 
cause,  or  I  consenting  to  it  in  the  least  degree. 

I  was  accompanied  to  this  prison  by  two  gen- 
tlemen officially  connected  with  its  management, 
and  passed  the  day  in  going  from  cell  to  cell,  and 
talking  with  the  inmates.  Every  facilitv  was  af> 
forded  me  that  the  utmost  courtesy  could  sug^iest. 
Nothing  was  conceaM  or  hidden  from  my  view, 
and  every  piece  of  information  that  I  sought  was 
openly  and  frankly  given.  The  perfect  order  of 
the  building  cannot  be  praised  too  highly,  and  of 
the  excellent  motives  or  all  who  are  immediately 
concerned  in  the  administration  of  the  system^ 
there  can  be  no  kind  of  question. 

Between  the  body  of  the  prison  and  the  outer 
wall  there  is  a  spacious  garden.  Entering  it  by 
a  wicket  in  the  massive  gate,  we  pursued  the  path 
before  us  to  its  other  termination,  and  passed  into 
a  lai^  chamber,  from  which  seven  long  passages 
radiate.  On  either  side  of  each  is  a  lon^,  long 
row  of  low  cell-doors,  with  a  certain  number  over 
every  one.  Above,  a  gallery  of  cells  like  those 
below,  except  that  they  have  no  narrow  yard  at- 
tached (as  those  on  the  ground  tier  hav(?),  and 
are  somewhat  smaller.  The  possession  of  two 
of  these  is  supposed  to  compensate  for  the  alisence 
of  so  much  air  and  exercise  as  can  be  had  in  the 
dull  strip  attached  to  each  of  the  others  in  on 
hoar's  time  every  day;  and  therefore  every  pris- 


40 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


oner  in  this  upper  stor^  has  two  cells  adjoining 
and  communicatiug  with  each  other. 

Standing  at  the  central  point,  and  looking  down 
these  dreary  passages,  the  dull  repose  and  quiet 
that  prevails,  is  awful.  Occasionally,  there  is  a 
drowsy  sound  from  some  lone  weaver's  shuttle, 
or  shoemaker's  last,  but  it  is  stifled  by  the  thick 
walls  and  heavy  dungeon-door,  and  only  serves 
to  make  the  general  stillness  more  profoimd. 
Over  tlie  head  and  face  of  every  prisoner  who 
comes  into  this  melancholy  house,  a  black  hood 
is  drawn ;  and  in  this  dark  shroud,  an  emblem 
of  the  curtain  dropped  between  him  and  the  liv- 
ing world,  he  is  led  to  the  cell  from  which  he 
never  again  comes  forth,  until  his  whole  term  of 
imprisonment  has  expired.  He  never  hears  of 
wife  or  children;  home  or  friends;  the  life  or 
death  of  any  single  creature.  He  sees  the  prison- 
otlicers,  but  with  that  exception  he  never  looks 
upon  a  human  countenance,  or  hears  a  human 
voice.  He  is  a  man  buried  alive ;  to  be  dug  out 
in  the  slow  round  of  years;  and  in  the  mean 
time  dead  to  everything  but  torturing  anxieties 
and  horrible  despair. 

His  name,  and  crime,  and  term  of  suffering, 
are  unlniown,  even  to  the  officer  who  delivers  him 
his  daily  food.  There  is  a  number  over  his  cell- 
door,  and  in  a  book  of  which  the  governor  of  the 
prison  has  one  copy,  and  the  moral  instructor 
another :  this  is  the  index  to  his  history.  Beyond 
these  pages  the  prison  has  no  record  of  his  exist- 
ence :  and  though  he  live  to  be  in  the  same  cell 
ten  weary  years,  he  has  no  means  of  knowing, 
down  to  the  very  last  hour,  in  what  part  of  the 
building  it  is  situated ;  what  kind  of  men  there 
are  about  him ;  whether  in  the  long  winter  nights 
there  are  living  people  near,  or  he  is  in  some 
lonely  comer  of  the  great  jail,  with  walls,  and 
pa.ssages,  and  iron  doors  between  him  and  the 
nearest  sharer  in  its  solitary  horrors. 

Every  cell  has  double  doors :  the  outer  one  of 
sturdy  oak,  the  other  of  grated  iron,  wherein  there 
is  a  trap  through  which  his  food  is  handed.  He 
has  a  Bible,  and  a  slate  and  pencil,  and,  under 
certain  restrictions,  has  sometunes  other  books, 
provided  for  the  purpose,  and  pen  and  ink  and 
paper.  His  razor,  plate,  and  can,  and  basin,  hang 
upon  the  wall,  or  shine  upon  the  little  shell, 
fresh  water  is  laid  on  in  every  cell,  and  he  can 
draw  it  at  his  pleasure .  During  the  day,  his  bed- 
litead  turns  up  against  the  wall,  and  leaves  more 
tpace  for  him  to  work  in.  His  loom  or  bench, 
tM*  wheel  is  there,  and  there  he  labours,  sleeps 
and  wakes,  and  counts  the  seasons  as  they  change, 
and  grows  old. 

The  first  man  I  saw,  was  seated  at  his  loom,  at 
work.  He  had  been  there  six  years,  and  was  to 
remain,  I  think,  three  more.  He  had  been  con- 
victed as  a  receiver  of  stolen  goods,  but  even  after 
this  long  imprisonment,  deniol  his  guilt,  and  said 
he  had  been  hardly  dealt  by.  It  was  his  second 
offence. 

He  stopped  his  work  when  we  went  in,  took  off 
his  spectacles,  and  answered  freely  to  everything 
that  was  said  to  him,  but  always  with  a  strange 
k'nd  of  pause  first,  and  in  a  low,  thoughtful  voice. 
He  wore  a  paper  hat  of  his  own  making,  and  was 
pleased  to  have  it  noticed  and  commended.  He 
had  very  ingeniously  manufactured  a  sprt  of 
Di.Uch  clock  from  some  disregarded  odds  and 
ends;  and  his  vinegar-bottle  served  for  the  pen- 
dulum. Seeing  me  interested  in  this  contrivance, 
he  looked  up  at  it  with  a  good  deal  of  pride,  and 
■aid  that  he  had  been  thinking  of  improving  it, 
and  that  he  honed  the  hammer  and  a  little  piece 


of  broken  glass  beside  It  "  would  play  mtuic 
before  long."  He  had  extracted  some  colours 
from  the  yarn  with  which  he  worked,  and  painted 
a  tew  poor  figures  on  the  wall.  One,  of  a  temale,. 
over  the  door,  he  called  "  The  Lady  of  the  Lake." 

He  smiled  as  I  looked  at  these  contrivances  to 
while  away  the  time ;  but  when  I  looked  from 
them  to  him,  I  saw  that  his  lip  trembled,  and  could 
have  counted  the  beating  ot  his  heart.  I  forget 
how  it  came  about,  but  some  allusion  was  made 
to  his  having  a  wife.  He  shook  hi^head  at  the 
word,  turned  aside,  and  covered  his  face  wiUt 
his  hands. 

"  But  you  are  resigned  now  I"  said  one  of  the 
gentlemen  after  a  short  pause,  during  which  he 
had  resumed  his  formed  manner.  He  answered 
with  a  sigh  that  seemed  quite  reckless  in  its 
hopelessness,  "  Oh  yes,  oh  yes  I  I  am  resigned 
to  it."  "  And  are  a  better  man,  you  think  1" 
"  Well,  I  hope  so :  I'm  sure  I  hope  I  may  be." 
"  And  time  goes  pretty  quickly  1  "  Time  is 
very  long,  gentlemen,  within  these  four  walls  I" 

He  gazed  about  him— Heaven  only  knows 
how  wearily ! — as  he  said  these  words ;  and  in 
the  act  of  doing  so,  fell  into  a  strange  stare  as  if 
he  had  forgotten  something.  A  moment  after- 
ward he  sighed  heavily,  put  on  his  spectacles, 
and  went  about  his  worlc  again. 

In  another  cell,  there  was  a  German,  sentenced 
to  five  years'  imprisonment  for  larceny,  two  of 
which  had  just  expired.  With  colours  procured 
in  the  same  manner,  he  had  painted  every  inch 
of  the  walls  and  ceiling  quite  beautifully.  He 
had  laid  out  the  few  feet  of  ground,  behind,  with 
exquisite  neatness,  and  had  made  a  little  bed  in 
the  centre,  that  looked,  by-the-by,  like  a  grave. 
The  taste  and  ingenuity  he  had  displayed  in 
everything  were  most  extraordinary ;  and  yet  a 
more  rejected,  heart-broken,  wretched  creature, . 
it  would  be  difficult  to  imagine.  I  never  saw 
such  a  picture  of  forlorn  affliction  and  distress  of 
mind.  My  heart  bled  for  him ;  and  when  the 
tears  ran  down  his  cheeks,  and  he  took  one  of 
the  visiters  aside,  to  ask,  with  his  trembling 
hands  nervously  clutching  at  his  coat  to  detain 
him,  whether  there  was  no  hope  of  his  dismal- 
sentence  being  commuted,  the  spectacle  was 
really  too  painful  to  witness.  I  never  saw  or 
heard  of  any  kind  of  misery  that  impressed  me 
more  than  the  wretchedness  of  this  man. 

In  a  third  cell,  was  a  tall,  strong  black,  a  burg- 
lar, working  at  his  proper  trade  ofmaking  screws 
and  the  like.  His  time  was  nearly  out.  He  was 
not  only  a  very  dexterous  thief,  but  was  notori- 
ous for  his  boldness  and  hardihood,  and  for  the 
number  of  his  previous  convictions.  He  enter- 
tained us  with  a  long  account  of  his  achieve- 
ments, which  he  narrated  with  such  infinite  rel- 
ish, that  he  actually  seemed  to  lick  his  lips  as  ha 
told  us  racy  anecdotes  of  stolen  plate,  and  of  old 
ladies  whom  he  had  watched  as  they  sat  at  win- 
dows in  silver  spectacles  (he  had  plainly  had  an 
eye  to  their  metal  even  from  the  other  side  of  the 
street),  and  had  afterward  robbed.  This  fellow, 
upon  the  slighte.st  encouragement,  would  have 
mingled  witli  his  professional  recollections  the 
most  detestable  cant ;  but  I  am  very  much  mis- 
taken if  he  could  have ;  urpasscd  the  unmitigated 
hypocrisy  with  which  he  declared  that  he  bless- 
ed the  day  on  which  he  came  into  that  prison, 
and  that  he  never  would  commit  another  robbery 
as  long  as  he  lived. 

There  was  one  man  who  was  allowed,  as  an 
indulgence,  to  keep  rabbits.  His  room  having 
rather  a  close  smell  in  conseqaence,  they  called 


was! 

Th< 
there  1 
ous,  1(| 
face, 
who,  I 
gladl]^ 
Ther 
jailbl 
when  I 
Englif 
who,  I 
and-til 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


41 


to  him  at  the  door  to  come  out  into  the  passage. 
He  complied,  of  course,  and  stood  shading  his 
haggard  face  in  the  unwonted  sunlight  of  the 
great  window,  looking  as  wan  and  unearthly  as 
if  he  had  been  summoned  from  the  grave.  He 
had  a  white  rabbit  in  his  breast;  and  when  the 
little  creature,  getting  down  upon  the  ground, 
stole  back  into  the  cell,  and  he,  being  dismissed, 
crept  timidly  after  it,  I  thought  it  would  have 
been  very  hard  to  say  in  what  respect  the  man 
was  the  nobler  animal  of  the  two. 

There  was  an  English  thief,  who  had  been 
there  but  a  few  days  out  of  seven  years ;  a  villan- 
ous,  low-browed,  thin-lipped  fellow,  with  a  white 
face,  who  had,  as  yet,  no  relish  for  visiters,  and 
who,  but  for  the  additional  penalty,  would  have 
^adly  stabbed  me  with  his  shoemaker's  knife. 
There  was  another  German  who  had  entered  the 
jail  but  yesterday,  and  who  started  from  his  bed 
when  we  looked  in,  and  pleaded,  in  his  broken 
English,  very  hard  for  work.  There  was  a  poet, 
who,  after  doing  two  days'  work  in  every  lour- 
and-twenty  hours,  one  for  himself  and  one  for  the 
prison,  wrote  verses  about  ships  (he  was  by 
trade  a  mariner),  and  "  the  maddening  wine-cup,^' 
and  his  friends  at  home.  There  were  very  many 
of  them.  Some  reddened  at  the  sight  of  visiters, 
and  some  turned  very  pale.  Some  two  or  three 
had  prisoner  nurses  with  them,  for  they  were 
veiy  sick ;  and  one,  a  fat  old  negro,  whose  leg 
haa  been  taken  off  within  the  jail,  nad  for  his  at- 
tendant a  classical  scholar  and  an  accomplished 
surgeon,  himself  a  prisoner  likewise.  Sitting 
upon  the  stairs,  engaged  in  some  slight  work, 
was  a  pretty  colourwi  boy.  "  Is  there  no  refuge 
for  young  criminals  in  Philadelphia,  then  1"  said 
I.  "  Yes,  but  only  for  -white  children."  Noble 
aristocracy  in  crime ! 

There  was  a  sailor  who  had  been  there  upward 
of  eleven  years,  and  who  in  a  few  months'  time 
would  be  tree.  Eleven  years  of  solitary  confine- 
ment ! 

"  I  am  very  glad  to  hear  your  time  is  nearly 
out."  What  does  he  sayf  Nothing.  Why 
does  he  stare  at  his  hands,  and  pick  the  flesh 
upon  his  fingers,  and  raise  his  eyes  for  an  instant, 
every  now  and  then,  to  those  bare  walls  which 
have  .seen  his  head  turn  gray  1  It  is  a  way  he 
has  sometimes. 

Does  he  never  look  men  in  the  face,  and  does 
he  always  pluck  at  those  hands  of  his,  as  though 
he  were  bent  on  parting  skin  and  bonel  It  is 
his  humour:  nothing  more. 

It  is  his  humour  too,  to  say  that  he  does  not  look 
forward  to  going  out ;  that  he  is  not  glad  the  time 
is  drawing  near;  that  he  did  look  forward  to  it 
once,  but  that  was  very  long  ago ;  that  he  has 
lost  all  care  for  everything.  It  is  his  humour 
to  be  a  helpless,  crushed,  and  broken  man.  And 
Heaven  be  his  witness  that  he  has  his  humorr 
thoroughly  gratified  I 

There  were  three  young  women  in  adjoining 
cells,  all  convicted  at  the  same  time  of  a  con- 
spiracy to  rob  their  prosecutor.  In  the  silence 
and  solitude  of  their  lives  they  had  grown  to  be 
quite  beautiful.  Their  looks  were  very  sad,  and 
might  have  moved  the  sternest  visiter  to  tears, 
but  not  to  that  kind  of  sorrow  which  the  contem- 
plation of  the  men  awakens.  One  was  a  young 
girl,  not  twenty,  as  I  recollect,  whose  snow-white 
room  was  hung  with  the  work  of  soi;ne  former 
iirisoner,  and  upon  whose  downcast  face  the  sim 
In  all  its  splendour  shone  down  through  the  high 
chink  in  the  wall,  where  one  narrow  strip  of 
bright  blue  sky  was  visible.  She  was  very  peni- 
F 


tent  and  quiet;  had  ccjie  to  be  resigned,  she 
said  (and  I  believe  her),  and  had  a  mind  at 
peace.  "  In  a  word,  you  are  happy  here  V  said 
one  of  my  companions.  She  struggled — ^she  did 
struggle  very  hard^o  answer.  Yes ;  but  raising 
her  eyes,  ai^l  meeting  that  glimpse  of  freedom 
overhead,  s  e  burst  into  tears,  and  said,  "She 
tried  to  be ;  she  uttered  no  complaint ;  but  it  was 
natural  that  she  should  sometimes  long  to  go  out 
of  that  one  cell;  she  could  not  help  that:"  she 
sobbed,  poor  thing  I 

I  went  from  cell  to  cell  that  day ;  and  every 
face  I  saw,  or  word  I  heard,  or  incident  I  notea, 
is  present  to  my  mind  in  all  its  painfulness. 
But  let  me  pass  them  by,  for  one,  more  pleasant, 
glance  of  a  prison  on  the  same  plan  whicn  I  after- 
ward saw  at  Pittsburgh. 

When  I  had  gone  over  that,  in  the  same  man- 
ner. I  asked  the  governor  if  he  had  any  person 
in  nis  charge  who  was  shortly  going  out.  He 
had  one,  he  said,  whose  time  was  up  next  day ; 
but  he  had  only  l>een  a  prisoner  two  years. 

Two  years  I  I  looked  back  through  two  years 
in  my  own  life — out  of  jail,  prosperous,  happy, 
surrounded  by  blessings,  comforts,  and  good  tor- 
tune — and  thought  how  wide  a  gap  it  was,  and 
how  long  those  two  years  passed  in  solitary  cap- 
tivity would  have  been.  I  have  the  face  of  this 
man,  who  was  going  to  be  released  next  day,  be- 
fore me  now.  It  is  almost  more  memorable  in 
its  happiness  than  the  other  faces  in  their  misery. 
How  easy  and  how  natural  it  was  for  him  to  say 
that  the  system  was  a  good  one ;  and  that  the 
time  went "  pretty  quick — considering ;"  and  that 
when  a  man  once  felt  he  had  offended  the  law, 
and  must  satisfy  it,  "he  got  along,  somehow:" 
and  so  forth ! 

"  What  did  he  call  you  back  to  say  to  you,  in 
that  strange  flutter  1"  I  asked  of  my  conductor, 
when  he  had  locked  the  door  and  joined  me  in 
the  passage. 

"Oh!  That  he  was  afraid  the  soles  of  his 
boots  were  not  fit  for  walking,  as  they  were  a 
good  deal  worn  when  he  came  in ;  and  that  he 
would  thank  me  very  much  to  have  them  mend- 
edjTeady." 

Those  boots  had  been  taken  off  his  feet,  and 

Eut  away  with  the  rest  of  his  clothes,  two  years 
efore ! 

I  took  that  opportunity  of  inquiring  how  they 
conducted  themselves  immediately  before  going 
out;  adding,  that  I  presumed  they  trembled  very 
much. 

"  Well,  it's  not  so  much  a  trembling,"  was  the 
answer — "  though  they  do  quiver — as  a  complete 
derangement  of  the  nervous  system.  They  can't 
sign  their  names  to  the  book ;  sometimes  caa'l 
even  hold  the  pen ;  look  about  'em  without  ap- 
pearing to  know  why,  or  where  they  are ;  and 
sometimes  get  up  and  sit  down  again  twenty 
times  in  a  minute.  This  is  when  they're  in  the 
office,  where  they  are  taken  with  the  hood  on,  as 
they  were  brought  in.  When  they  get  outside 
the  gate,  they  stop,  and  look  first  one  way  and 
then  the  other,  not  knowing  which  to  take. 
Sometimes  they  stagger  as  if  they  were  drunk, 
and  sometimes  are  forced  to  lean  against  the 
fence,  they're  so  bad ;  but  they  clear  off  in  course 
of  time." 

As  I  walked  among  these  solitary  cells,  and 
looked  at  the  faces  of  the  men  within  them,  I  \ 
tried  to  picture  to  myself  the  thoughts  and  feel- 
ing!|  natural  to  their  condition.  I  imagine<l  the 
hood  just  taken  off,  and  the  scene  of  their  cap- 
tiviQr  disclosed  to  them  in  all  its  dismiU  monotony.  I 


43 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


At  first,  thn  mnn  is  stunned.  His  confinement 
is  a  liiik'ous  vision,  and  his  old  life  a  reality. 
He  throws  hinjsdf  upon  his  bed,  and  lies  there 
abandoned  to  des])air.  By  degrees  the  insup- 
portable solitude  and  barrenness  oi"  the  place 
rouses  him  from  this  stupor,  and  when  the  trap 
jn  his  f,^rated  door  is  opened,  he  humbly  begs  and 

{rays  liir  work.  "  Give  me  some  work  to  do,  or 
shall  go  raving  mad  I" 

He  has  it;  and  by  fits  and  starts  applies  him- 
self to  labour;  but  every  now  and  tnen  there 
comes  upon  him  a  burning  sense  of  the  years 
that  must  lie  wasted  in  that  stone  coffin,  and  an 
agony  so  piercing  in  the  recollection  of  those 
who  are  hidden  Irom  his  view  and  knowledge, 
that  he  .starts  from  his  .seat,  and  striding  up  and 
down  the  narrow  room  with  both  hands  clasped 
on  his  upliltcd  head,  hears  spirits  tempting  him 
to  beat  his  brains  out  on  the  wall. 

Again  he  falls  upon  his  bed,  and  lies  there, 
moaning.  Suddenly  he  starts  up,  wondering 
whether  any  other  man  is  near ;  whether  there 
is  another  cell  like  tliat  on  either  side  of  him; 
and  listens  keenly. 

There  is  no  sound,  but  other  prisoners  maybe 
near  for  all  that.  He  remembers  to  have  heard 
once,  when  he  little  thought  of  coming  here  him- 
self, that  the  cells  were  so  constnicted  that  the 
prisoners  could  not  hear  each  other,  though  the 
officers  could  hear  them.  Where  is  the  nearest 
man—  upon  the  right  or  on  the  left  1  or  is  there 
one  in  both  directions  1  Where  is  he  sitting  now 
— with  his  fkce  to  the  light  1  or  is  he  walking  to 
and  frol  How  is  he  dressed  1  Has  he  been 
here  longl  Is  he  much  worn  awayl  Is  he 
verj'  white  and  spectre-like  1  Does  fie  think  of 
his  neighbour  too  *? 

Scarcely  venturing  to  breathe,  and  listening 
while  he  thinks,  he  conjutes  up  a  figure  with  its 
back  towards  him,  and  imagines  it  moving  about 
in  this  next  cell.  He  has  no  idea  of  the  face,  but 
be  is  certain  of  the  dark  form  of  a  stooping  man. 
In  the  cell  upon  the  other  side  he  puts  another 
figure,  whose  face  is  hidden  from  him  also. 
Day  after  day,  and  often  when  he  wakes  np  in 
the  middle  of  the  night,  he  thinks  of  these  two 
men  until  he  is  almost  distracted.  He  never 
changes  them.  There  they  are  alw  fs  as  he 
first  imagined  them — an  old  man  on  ^e  right,  a 

Siunger  man  upon  the  left— whose  hidden  fea- 
res  torture  him  to  death,  and  have  a  mystery 
that  makes  him  tremble. 

The  weaiy  days  pass  on  with  solemn  pace, 
like  mourners  at  a  nineral ;  and  slowly  he  be- 
l^ns  to  feel  that  the  white  walls  of  the  cell  have 
something  dreadAil  in  them :  that  their  colour  is 
horrible;  that  their  smooth  surface  chills  his 
blood :  that  there  is  one  hateful  comer  which  tor- 
ments him.  Every  morning  when  he  wakes,  he 
hides  his  head  beneath  the  coverlet,  and  shudders 
to  see  the  ghastly  ceiling  looking  down  upon  him. 
The  blessed  light  of  day  itself  peeps  in,  an  ufely 
phantom  face,  through  the  unchangeable  crevice 
which  is  his  prison  window. 

By  slow  but  sure  degrees,  the  terrors  of  that 
tiateful  comer  swell  until  they  beset  him  at  all 
times;  invade  his  rest,  make  his  dreams  hideous, 
and  his  nights  dreadful.  At  first,  he  took  a 
strange  dislike  to  it:  feeling  as  though  it  gave 
birth  in  his  brain  to  something  of  corresponding 
shape,  which  ought  not  to  be  there,  and  racked 
his  nead  with  pains.  Then  he  began  to  fear  it, 
then  to  dream  of  it,  and  of  men  whispering  its 
name  and  pointing  to  it.  Then  he  could  not 
iMX  to  look  at  it,  nor  yet  to  torn  his  back  upon 


it.  Now,  it  is  every  ni§ht  the  lurking-place  of  a 
ghost;  a  shadow;  a  silent  something,  horrible 
to  see,  but  whether  bird,  or  beast,  or  muffled  hu- 
man shape,  he  cannot  tell. 

When  he  is  in  his  cell  by  day,  he  fears  the  lit- 
tle yard  without.  When  he  is  in  the  yard,  ho 
dreads  to  re-enter  the  cell.  When  night  comes, 
there  stands  the  phantonl  in  the  comer.  If  he 
have  the  courage  to  .stand  in  its  place,  and  drive 
it  out  (he  had  once,  being  desperate),  it  broods 
u  a  his  bed.  In  the  twilight,  and  always  at 
the  same  hour,  a  voice  calls  to  him  by  name; 
as  the  darkne.ss  thickens  his  Loom  begins  to 
live ;  and  even  that,  his  comfort,  is  a  hideous 
figure,  watching  him  till  daybreak. 

Again,  by  slow  degrees,  these  horrible  fancies 
depart  from  him  one  by  one;  returning  some- 
times, unexpectedly,  but  at  longi»r  intervals,  and 
in  less  alarming  shapes.  He  has  talked  upon 
religious  matters  with  the  gentleman  who  visits 
him,  and  has  read  his  Bible,  and  has  written  a 
prayer  upon  his  slate,  and  hung  it  up,  as  a  kind 
of  protection,  and  an  assurance  of  Heavenly 
companionship.  He  dreams  now,  sometimes, 
of  his  children  or  his  wife,  but  is  sure  that  they 
are  dead  or  have  desertecl  him.  He  is  easily 
moved  to  tears ;  is  gentle,  submissive,  and  bro- 
ken-spirited. Occasionally,  the  old  agony  comes 
back:  a  very  little  thing  will  revive  it;  even  a 
familiar  sound,  or  the  scent  of  summer  flowers 
in  the  air;  but  it  does  not  last  long,  now;  for  the 
world  without,  has  come  to  be  the  vision,  and 
this  solitary  life,  tiie  sad  reality. 

If  his  term  of  imprisonment  be  short — I  mean 
comparatively,  for  short  it  cannot  be — the  last 
half  year  is  almost  worse  than  all:  for  then  he 
thinks  the  prison  will  take  fire  and  ne  be  bumed 
in  the  ruins,  or  that  he  is  doomed  to  die  within 
the  walls,  or  that  he  will  be  detained  on  some 
fal.se  charge  and  sentenced  for  another  term :  or 
that  something,  no  matter  what,  must  happen  to 
prevent  his  going  at  large.  And  this  is  natural 
and  impossible  to  be  reasoned  against,  because, 
after  his  long  separation  from  human  life,  and 
his  great  suftering,  any  event  will  appear  to  him 
more  probable  in  the  contemplation,  than  the  be- 
ing restored  to  liberty  and  his  fellow-creatures. 

If  his  period  of  confinement  have  been  very 
long,  the  prospect  of  release  bewilders  and  con- 
fuses him.  His  broken  heart  may  flutter  for  a 
moment,  when  he  thinks  of  the  world  outside, 
and  what  it  might  have  been  to  him  in  all  those 
lonely  years,  but  that  is  all.  The  cell-door  has 
been  closed  too  long  on  all  its  hopes  and  cares. 
Better  to  have  han^  him  in  the  beginning  than 
bring  him  to  this  pass,  and  send  him  forth  to 
mingle  with  his  kind,  who  are  his  kind  no  more. 

On  the  haggard  lace  of  every  man  amonar 
the.se  prisoners,  the  same  expression  sat.  I 
know  not  what  to  liken  it  to.  It  had  something 
of  that  strained  attention  which  we  see  upon  the 
faces  of  the  blind  and  deaf,  mingled  with  a  kind 
of  horror,  as  though  they  had  all  been  secretly 
terrified.  In  every  little  chamber  that  I  entered, 
and  at  every  grate  through  which  I  looked,  1 
seemed  to  see  the  same  appalling  countenance. 
It  lives  in  my  memory  witli  the  fascination  of  a 
remarkable  picture.  Parade  before  my  eyes  a 
hundred  men,  with  one  among  them  newly  re- 
leased from  this  solitary  sufl'ering,  and  I  would 
point  him  out. 

The  faces  of  the  women,  as  I  have  said,  it  hu- 
manizes an-  refines.  Whether  this  be,  because 
of  their  betttr  nature,  which  is  elicited  in  soli- 
tude, or  because  of  their  being  gentler  creatures^ 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


4S 


rking-place  of  a 
e«hing,  horrible 
,  or  muffled  hu- 

he  fears  the  lit- 
iD  the  yard,  he 
;n  night  comes, 
comer.    If  he 
•lace,  and  drive 
rate),  it  broods 
and  always  at 
Imn  byname; 
)om  begins  to 
>  is  a  hideous 
r. 

orrible  fancies 
turning  some- 
intervals,  and 
s  tallced  upoa 
»an  who  visits 
has  written  a 
up,  as  a  kind 
of  Heavenly 
1^,  sometimes, 
sure  that  they 
He  is  easily 
"vc,  and  bro- 
agony  comes 
ve  it;  even  a 
nmer  flowers 
now;  for  the 
e  vision,  and 

hort — I  mean 
be—the  last 

;  for  then  he 

he  be  burned 

to  die  within 

led  on  some 

her  term :  or 

St  happen  to 

lis  is  natural 

nst,  because, 

■an  life,  and 

ppear  to  him 

I  than  the  be. 

w-creatures. 

e  been  veiy 

srs  and  con- 
flutter  for  a 

»rld  outside, 

in  all  those 

!ll-door  has 

■  and  cares. 

inning  than 

im  forth  to 

id  no  more. 

an  amonfl' 

m  sat.     I 

something 

e  upon  the 

^ith  a  kind 

in  secretly 
I  entered- 
looked,  1 

mtenance. 

ation  of  a 

ly  eves  a 

newly  re- 

l  I  would 

lid,  it  hn- 
,  because 
1  in  soli- 
treatunoi^ 


of  greater  patience  and  longer  suffering,  I  do  not 
know;  but  so  it  is.  That  the  punishment  is 
nevertheless,  to  my  thinking,  fully  as  cruel  and 
as  wrong  in  their  case  as  in  that  of  the  men,  I 
need  scarcely  add. 

My  firm  conviction  is  that,  mdepcndent  of  the 
mental  anguish  it  occasions — an  anguish  so 
acute  and  so  tremendous,  that  all  imagination 
of  it  must  fall  far  short  of  the  reality— it  wears 
the  mind  into  a  morbid  slate,  which  renders  it 
unfit  for  the  rough  contact  and  busy  action  of  the 
world.  It  is  my  fixed  opinion  that  those  who 
have  undergone  this  punishment,  must  pass  into 
society  again  morally  unhealthy  and  diseased. 
There  arc  many  instances  on  record,  of  men  who 
have  chosen,  or  have  been  condemned,  to  lives 
of  perfect  solitude,  but  I  scarcely  remember  one, 
«Ten  among  sages  of  strong  and  (rigorous  intel- 
lect, where  its  effect  has  not  become  apparent,  in 
«ome  disordered  train  of  thought,  or  some  gloomy 
hallucination.  What  monstrous  phantoms,  b«w 
of  despondency  and  doubt,  and  bom  and  reared 
in  solitude,  have  stalked  upon  the  earth,  ma- 
king creation  ugly,  and  darKcning  the  face  of 
Heaven ! 

Suicides  are  rare  among  these  prisoners;  are 
almost,  indeed,  unknown.  But  no  argument  in 
favour  of  the  system  can  reasonably  be  deduced 
ftom  this  circumstance,  although  it  is  very  often 
urged.  All  men  who  have  made  diseases  of  the 
mind  their  study,  know  perfectly  well  that  such 
extreme  depression  and  despair  as  will  change 
tiie  whole  cnaracter,  and  beat  down  all  its  pow- 
ers of  elasticity  and  self-resistance,  may  be  at 
work  within  a  man,  and  yet  stop  short  ofself-de- 
struction.    -This  is  a  common  case. 

That  it  makes  the  senses  dull,  and  by  degrees 
impairs  tlie  bodily  faculties,  I  am  quite  sure.  I 
remarked  to  those  who  were  with  me  in  this 
very  establishment  at  Philadelphia,  that  the 
criminals  wlio  had  been  there  long  were  deaf 
They  who  were  in  the  habit  of  seeing  these  men 
constantly  were  perfectly  amazed  at  the  idea, 
which  they  regaioed  as  groundless  and  fanciful. 
And  yet,  the  veiy  first  prisoner  to  whom  they  ap- 
pealed— one  of  their  own  selection— confirmed 
my  impression  (which  was  unknown  to  him) 
instantly,  and  said,  with  a  genuine  air  it  was 
impossible  to  doubt,  that  he  couldn't  think  how 
it  happened,  but  he  toas  growing  very  dull  of 
hearing. 

That  it  is  a  singularly  unequal  punishment, 
and  affects  the  worst  man  least,  there  is  no 
doubt.  In  its  superior  efiicacy  as  a  means  of 
reformation,  compared  with  that  other  code  of 
regulations  which  allows  the  prisoners  to  work 
in  company  without  communicating  together,  I 
have  not  tlie  smallest  faith.  All  the  instances 
of  reformation  that  were  mentioned  to  me  were 
of  a  kind  that  might  have  been— and  I  have  no 
doubt  whatever,  in  my  own  mind,  would  have 
been — equally  well  brought  about  by  the  Silent 
System.  With  regard  to  such  men  as  the  negro 
buiglar  and  the  English  thief,  even  the  most  en- 
thusiastic have  scarcely  any  hope  of  their  con- 
version. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  objection  that  nothing 
wholesome  or  good  has  ever  had  its  growth  in 
Buch  unnatural  solitude,  and  that  even  a  dog  or 
any  of  the  more  intelligent  among  beasts  would 
pine,  and  mope,  and  rust  away  beneath  its  influ- 
ence, would  be  in  itself  a  sufficient  argument 
against  this  system.  But  when  we  recollect,  in 
addition,  how  very  cruel  and  severe  it  is,  and 
that  a  solitary  Ufe  is  always  liable  to  peculiar 


and  distinct  objections  of  a  most  deplorable  na- 
ture, which  have  .arisen  here ;  and  culi  to  mind, 
moreover,  that  the  choice  is  not  between  iliis 
system  and  a  bad  or  ill-considered  one,  but  be- 
tween it  and  another  which  has  worked  well, 
and  is,  in  its  whole  design  and  practice,  excel- 
lent ;  there  is  surely  more  than  sufficient  leaKon 
for  abandoning  a  mode  of  punishment  attended 
by  so  little  hope  or  promise,  and  fraught  beyond 
dispute  with  such  a  host  of  evils. 

As  a  relief  to  its  contemplation,  I  will  close 
this  chapter  with  a  curious  story,  arising  out  of 
the  same  theme,  which  was  related  to  me,  on  the 
occasion  of  this  visit,  by  some  of  the  gentlemen 
concerned. 

At  one  of  the  periodical  meetings  of  the  in- 
spectors of  this  pnson,  a  working  man  of  Phila- 
delphia presented  himself  before  the  Board,  and 
earnestly  requested  to  be  placed  in  solitary  con- 
finement. On  being  asked  what  motive  could 
possibly  prompt  him  to  make  tliis  strange  de- 
mand, be  rmswered  that  he  had  an  irresistible 
propensity  to  get  drunk ;  that  he  was  constantly 
indulging  it,  to  his  great  misery  and  ruin ;  that 
he  had  no  power  of  resistance;  that  he  wished 
to  be  put  beyond  the  reach  of  temptation ;  and 
that  he  could  think  of  no  better  way  than  this. 
It  was  pointed  out  to  him,  iu  reply,  that  the 
prison  was  for  criminals  who  had  been  tried  and 
sentenced  by  the  law,  and  could  not  be  made 
available  for  any  such  fanciful  purposes;  he 
was  exhorted  to  abstain  from  intoxfcatmg  drinks, 
as  he  surely  might  if  he  would;  and  received 
other  very  good  advice,  with  which  he  retired, 
exceedingly  dissatisfied  with  the  result  of  his  ap- 
plication. 

He  came  again,  and  again,  and  again,  and 
was  so  very  eame-st  and  importunate,  that  at 
last  they  took  counsel  together  and  said.  "He 
will  certainly  qualify  himself  for  admission,  if 
we  reject  him  any  more.  Let  us  shut  him  op. 
He  will  soon  be  glad  to  go  away,  and  then  we 
shall  get  rid  of  him."  So  they  made  him  sign  a 
statement  which  would  prevent  his  ever  susUiin- 
ing  an  action  for  false  imprisonment,  to  the  ef- 
fect that  hjis  incarceration  was  volnntary,  and 
of  his  (ntxk  seeking ;  they  requested  him  to  take 
notice  that  the  officer  iu  attendance  had  orders 
to  release  him  at  any  hour  of  the  day  or  niriit 
when  he  might  knock  upon  his  door  for  thai 
purpose  J  but  desired  him  to  understand  that, 
once  going  out,  he  would  not  be  admitted  any 
more.  These  conditions  agreed  upon,  and  M 
still  remaining  in  the  same  mind,  he  was  con- 
ducted  to  the  prison,  and  shut  up  in  one  of  tht 
cells. 

In  this  cell,  the  man  who  had  not  the  firmness 
to  leave  a  glass  of  liquor  standing  nntasted  on  a 
table  before  him — ^in  this  cell,  in  solitary  confine- 
ment, and  working  every  day  at  hh  trade  of 
shoemaking,  this  man  remained  nearly  two  years. 
His  health  beginning  to  fail  at  the  expiration  of  i 
that  time,  the  surgeon  recommended  that  he  { 
should  work  occa^^ioniiUy  in  the  garden ;  and  as  J 
he  liked  the  notion  very  much,  he  went  about  j 
this  new  occupation  with  great  cheerfulness. 

He  was  digging  here,  one  summer  day,  very  j 
industriously,  when  the  wicket  in  the  outer  gate 
chanced  to  he  left  open ;  showing,  beyond,  the 
well-remembered  dusty  road  and  sunburnt  fields. 
The  way  was  as  free  to  him  as  to  any  man  liv- 
ing, but  he  no  sooner  raised  his  head  and  caught] 
sight  of  it,  all  shining  in  the  light,  than,  with] 
the  involuntary  instinct  of  a  prisoner,  he  cast! 
away  his  spade,  scamuered  on  as  fast  as  his] 


44 


NOTES   ON  AMERICA. 


I 


I 


legs  wonld  eany  Idm,  and  never  once  looked 
back. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

WAaBINQTON.  —  THE     LEOISLATURE.  —  AND     THE 
PRESIDENT'a   HOUSE. 

Wb  left  Philadelphia  hyr  steamboat  at  six 
o'clock  one  veiy  cold  morning,  and  turned  our 
faces  towards  Washington. 

In  the  course  of  this  day's  joumer,  as  on  sub- 
sequent occasions,  we  encounterea  some  Eng- 
lishmen (small  fanners,  perhaps,  or  country  pub- 
licans at  home)  who  were  settled  in  America, 
and  were  travelling  on  their  own  affairs.  Of  all 
grades  and  kinds  of  men  that  jostle  one  in  the 
public  conveyances  of  the  States,  these  are  often 
the  most  intolerable  and  the  most  insufferable 
companions.  United  to  every  disagreeable  char- 
acteristic that  the  worst  kind  of  American  trav- 
ellers possess,  these  countrymen  of  ours  display 
an  amount  of  insolent  conceit  and  cool  assump- 
tion of  superiority  quite  monstrous  to  behold. 
In  the  coarse  familiarity  of  their  approach,  and 
the  effrontery  of  their  inquisitiveness  (which 
they  are  in  great  haste  to  assert,  as  if  they  pant- 
ed to  revenge  themselves  upon  the  decent  old  re- 
straints of  home),  they  surpass  any  native  spe- 
cimens that  came  within  my  range  of  observa- 
tion ;  and  I  often  grew  so  patriotic  when  I  saw 
and  heard  them,  uat  I  would  cheerfully  have 
submitted  to  a  reasonable  fine,  if  I  could  have 

Siven  any  other  country  in  the  whole  world  the 
onour  of  claiming  them  for  its  children. 
As  Washington  may  be  called  the  headquar- 
ters of  tobacco-tinctured  saliva,  the  time  is  come 
when  I  must  confess,  without  any  disguise,  that 
the  prevalence  of  those  two  odious  practices  of 
obewing  and  expectorating  began  about  this  time 
to  be  anything  but  agreeable,  and  soon  became 
most  offensive  and  sickening.  In  all  the  public 
places  of  America  this  filthy  custom  is  recog- 
nised. In  the  courts  of  law,  the  judge  has  his 
spittoon,  the  crier  his,  the  witness  Ui  and  the 
prisoner  his :  while  the  jurymen  anOTpectators 
are  provided  for,  as  so  many  men  iRio,  in  the 
course  of  nature,  must  desire  to  spit  incessantly. 
In  the  hospitals,  the  students  of  medicine  are  re- 
quested, by  notices  upon  the  wall,  to  eject  their 
tobacco  juice  into  the  boxes  provided  for  that 
porpose,  and  not  to  discolour  the  stairs.  In  pub- 
uc  buildings  visiters  are  implored,  through  the 
same  agency,  to  squirt  the  essence  of  their  quids, 
or  "  plugs,"  as  I  have  heard  them  called  by  gen- 
tlemen Teamed  in  this  kind  of  sweetmeat,  into 
tfie  national  spittoons,  and  not  about  the  bases 
of  the  marble  colums.  But  in  some  parts  this 
custom  is  inseparably  mixed  up  with  every  meal 
and  morning  call,  and  with  all  the  transactions 
of  social  life.  The  stranger,  who  follows  in  the 
track  I  took  myself,  will  find  it  in  its  full  bloom 
and  glory,  luxuriant  in  all  its  alarming  reckless- 
ness, at  Washington.  And  let  him  not  persuade 
himself  (as  I  once  did,  to  my  shame)  that  pre- 
vious tourists  have  exaggerated  its  extent.  "The 
thing  itself  is  an  exaggeration  of  nastiness,  which 
cannot  be  outdone. 

On  board   this  steamboat,  there  were  two 

yonng  gentlemen,  with  shirt-collars  reversed  as 

hsuai,  and  armed  with  veiy  big  walking  sticks; 

who  planted  two  seats  in  the  middle  of  the  deck, 

,  at  a  aistance  of  some  four  paces  apart;  took  out 

'  their  tobacco-boxes,  and  sat  down  opposite  each 


other,  to  chew.  In  less  than'  a  qnarter  of  an 
hour's  time,  these  hopeful  youths  had  shed  about 
them  on  the  clean  boards,  a  copious  shower  of 
yellow  rain :  clearing,  by  that  means,  a  kind  of 
magic  circle,  within  whose  limits  no  intruders 
dared  to  come,  and  which  they  never  failed  to 
refresh  and  refresh  before  a  spot  was  dry.  This 
bein^before  breakfast,  rather  disposed  me,  I  con> 
fess.  To  nausea ;  but  lookine  attentively  at  one 
of  the  expectoraters,  I  plainly  saw  that  he  was 
voung  in  chewing,  and  felt  inwardly  uneasy, 
himself.  A  glow  of  delight  came  over  me  at 
this  discovery;  and  as  I  marked  his  face  turn 
paler  and  paler,  and  saw  the  ball  of  tobacco  in 
his  left  cheek,  quiver  with  his  suppressed  agony, 
while  yet  he  spat,  and  chewed,  and  spat  again^ 
in  emulation  of  his  older  friend,  I  could  have 
fallen  on  his  neck  and  implored  him  to  go  on  for 
hours. 

We  all  sat  down  to  a  comfortable  breakfast  in 
the  cabin  below,  where  there  was  no  more  hurry 
or  confusion  than  at  such  a  meal  in  England,  and 
where  there  was  certainly  greater  politeness  ex- 
hibited than  at  most  of  our  stage-coach  banquets. 
At  about  nine  o'clock  we  arrived  at  the  railroad 
station,  and  went  on  by  the  cars.  At  noon  we 
turned  out  again,  to  cross  a  wide  river  in  another 
steamboat ;  landed  at  a  continuation  of  the  rail* 
road  on  the  opposite  shore,  and  went  on  by  other 
cars ;  in  which,  in  the  course  of  the  next  hour  or 
so,  we  crossed,  by  wooden  bridges,  each  a  mile 
in  length,  two  creeks,  called  respecttvely  Great 
and  little  Gunpowder.  The  water  in  both  was 
blackened  with  flights  of  canvass-backed  ducks, 
which  are  most  delicious  eat'jg,  and  abound 
hereabout  at  that  season  of  the  year. 

These  bridges  are  of  wood,  have  no  parapet, 
and  are  only  just  wide  enough  for  the  passage  of 
the  trains ;  which,  in  the  event  of  the  smallest 
accident,  would  inevitably  be  i)Iunged  into  the 
river.  They  are  startling  ccmtrivances,  and  are 
most  agreeable  when  passed. 

We  stopped  to  dine  at  Baltimore,  and  being 
now  in  Maryland,  were  waited  on,  for  the  first 
time,  by  slaves.  The  sensation  of  exacting  any 
service  from  human  creatures  who  are  bought 
and  sold,  and  being,  for  the  time,  a  party  as  it 
were  to  their  condition,  is  not  an  enviable  one. 
The  institution  exists,  perhaps^  in  its  least  repul- 
sive and  most  mitigated  form  m  such  a  town  as 
this ;  but  it  is  slavery ;  and  though  I  was,  with 
respect  to  it,  an  innocent  man,  its  presence  filled 
me  with  a  sense  of  shame  and  seli-reproach. 

After  dinner,  we  went  down  to  the  railroad 
again,  and  took  our  seats  in  the  cars  for  Wash- 
ington. Beins  rather  early,  those  men  and  boys 
who  happened  to  httre  nothing  particular  to  do, 
and  were  curious  in  foreigners,  came  (according 
to  custom)  round  the  carnage  in  whicn  I  sat;  let 
down  all  tne  windows ;  thrust  in  their  heads  and 
shoulders;  hooked  themselves  on  conveniently, 
by  their  elbows;  and  fell  to  comparing  notes 
on  the  subject  of  my  personal  appearance,  with 
as  much  indifference  as  if  I  were  a  stuffed  figure. 
I  never  gained  so  much  uncompromising  infor- 
mation with  reference  to  my  own  nose  and  eyes, 
the  various  impressions  wrought  by  my  mouth 
and  chin  on  different  minds,  and  how  my  head 
looks  when  it  is  viewed  from  behind,  as  on  these 
occasions.  Some  gentlemen  were  only  satisfied 
by  exercising  their  sense  of  touch ;  and  the  boys 
(who  are  surprisingly  precocious  in  AmcricaJ 
were  seldom  satisfied,  even  by  that,  but  woulo 
return  to  the  charge  over  and  over  again.  Many 
a  budding  president  has  walked  into  my  room 


NOTES    ON   AMERICA. 


45 


with  his  cap  on  his  head  and  his  hands  in  his 
pockets,  and  stared  at  me  for  two  whole  hours : 
occasionally  refreshing  himself  with  a  tweak  at 
his  nose,  or  a  drauglit  from  the  water-jug;  or  by 
walking  to  the  windows  and  inviting  other  boys 
in  the  street  below,  to  come  up  and  do  likewise : 
crying,  "here  he  is!"  "come  on!"  "bring  all 
your  brothers!"  with  other  hospitable  entreaties 
of  that  nature. 

We  reached  Washington  at  about  half  past  six 
that  evening,  and  had  upon  the  way  a  beautiful 
view  of  the  Capitol,  which  is  a  fine  building  of 
the  Corinthian  order,  and  placed  upon  a  noble 
and  commanding  eminence.  Arrived  at  the  hotel, 
I  saw  no  more  of  the  place  that  night ;  being 
very  tired,  and  glad  to  get  to  bed. 

Breakfast  over  next  morning,  I  walk  about  the 
streets  for  an  hour  or  two,  and,  coming  home, 
throw  up  the  window  in  the  front  and  back,  and 
look  out.  Here  is  Washington,  fresh  in  my 
mind  and  under  my  eye. 

Take  the  worst  parts  of  the  city  road  and  Pen- 
tonville,  preserving  all  their  oddities,  but  espe- 
cially the  small  shops  and  dwellings,  occupied 
there  (but  not  in  Washington)  by  furniture  hro- 
kers,  keepers  of  poor  eating-houses,  and  fanciers 
of  birds.  Bum  the  whole  down;  build  it  up 
again  in  wood  and  plaster;  widen  it  a  little: 
throw  in  part  of  St.  John's  wood;  put  green 
blinds  outside  all  the  private  houses,  with  a  red 
curtain  and  a  white  one  in  every  window ;  plough 
up  all  the  roads ;  plant  a  great  deal  of  coarse 
turf  in  every  place  where  it  ought  not  to  be ; 
erect  three  handsome  buildings  in  stone  and  mar- 
ble, anywhere,  but  the  more  entirely  out  of  every- 
body's way  the  better ;  call  one  the  Post  Office, 
one  the  Patent  Olfice,  and  one  the  Treasury; 
make  it  scorching  hot  in  the  morning,  and  freez- 
ing cold  in  the  afternoon,  with  an  occasional  tor- 
nmo  of  wind  and  dust ;  leave  a  brick-field  with- 
out the  bricks,  in  all  central  places  where  a 
street  may  naturally  be  expected:  and  that  is 
Washington. 

The  hotel  in  which  we  live,  is  a  long  row  of 
email  houses  fronting  on  the  street,  and  opening 
at  the  back  upon  a  common  yard,  in  which  hangs 
a  great  triangle.  Whenever  a  servant  is  wanted, 
somebody  beats  on  this  triangle  from  one  stroke 
up  to  seven,  according  to  the  number  of  the  house 
in  which  his  presence  is  required :  and  as  all  the 
servants  are  always  being  wanted,  and  none  of 
them  ever  come,  this  enlivening  engine  is  in  full 
performance  the  whole  dav  through.  Clothes  are 
drying  in  the  same  yard;  female  slaves,  with 
cotton  handkerchiefs  twisted  round  their  beads, 
are  running  to  and  fro  on  the  hotel  business ; 
black  waiters  cross  and  recross  with  dishes  in 
their  hands ;  two  great  dogs  are  playing  upon  a 
mound  of  loose  bricks  in  the  centre  of  the  little 
square ;  a  pig  is  turning  up  his  stomach  to  the 
sun,  and  grunting  "that's  comfo^ table !"  and 
neither  the  men,  nor  the  women,  nor  the  dogs,  nor 
the  pig,  nor  any  created  creature,  takes  the 
smallest  notice  oi  the  triangle,  which  is  tingling 
madly  all  the  time. 

I  walk  to  the  front  window,  and  look  across 
the  road  upon  a  long,  straggling  row  of  houses, 
one  story  high,  terminating,  nearly  opposite,  but 
a  little  to  the  leA,  in  a  melancholy  piece  of  waste 
ground  with  frowzy  grass,  which  looks  like  a 
small  piece  of  country  that  hai«  taken  to  drinking, 
and  has  quite  lost  itself.  Standing  anyhow  and 
all  wrong,  upon  this  open  space,  like  something 
meteoric  that  has  fallen  down  from  the  moon, 
is  an  odd,  lop-sided,  one-eyed  kind  of  wooden 


building,  that  looks  like  a  church,  with  a  Qae- 
staff  as  long  as  itself  sticking  out  of  a  steeple 
something  larger  than  a  tea-chest.  Under  the 
window,  is  a  small  stand  of  coaches,  who.se  slave- 
drivers,are  sunning  themselves  on  the  steps  of 
our  door,  and  talking  idly  together.  The  three 
most  obtrusive  houses  near  at  hand,  are  the 
three  meanest.  On  one — a  shop,  which  never 
has  anything  in  the  window,  and  never  has  the 
door  open — is  painted  in  large  characters,  "  Tub 
City  Lunch.''  At  another,  which  looks  like 
the  backway  to  somewhere  else,  but  is  an  inde- 
pendent building  in  itself,  oysters  axe  procurable 
m  evrry  style.  At  the  third,  which  is  a  very, 
very  little  tailor's  shop,  pants  are  fixed  to  order: 
or,  in  other  words,  pantaloons  are  made  to  meas- 
ure.   And  that  is  our  street  in  Washington. 

It  is  sometimes  called  the  City  of  Magnificent 
Distances,  but  it  might  with  greater  propriety  b« 
termed  the  City  of  Magnificent  Intentions ;  ior  it 
is  only  on  taking  a  bira's-eye  view  of  it  from  the 
top  of  the  Capitol,  that  one  can  at  all  compre- 
hend the  vast  designs  of  its  projector,  an  aspiring 
Frenchman.  Spacious  avenues,  that  begin  in 
nothing,  and  lead  nowhere;  streets,  mile-long, 
that  only  want  houses,  roadis,  and  inhabitants ; 
public  buildings  that  need  but  a  public  to  be 
complete ;  and  ornaments  of  great  thoroughfares, 
which  only  lack  great  thoroughfares  to  orna- 
ment, are  its  leading  features.  One  might  fancy 
the  season  over,  and  most  of  the  houses  gone  out 
of  town  forever  with  their  masters.  To  the  ad- 
mirers of  cities  it  is  a  Barmecide  Feast;  a  pleas- 
ant field  for  the  imagination  to  rove  in ;  a  monu- 
ment raised  to  a  deceased  object,  with  not  even 
a  legible  inscription  to  record  its  departed  great- 
ness. 

Such  as  it  is,  it  is  likely  to  remain.  It  was 
originally  chosen  for  the  seat  of  Government,  as 
a  means  of  averting  the  conflicting  jealousies 
and  interests  of  the  different  States',  and  very 
probably,  too,  as  being  remote  from  mobs:  a 
consideration  not  to  be  slighted,  even  in  Ameri- 
ca. It  has  no  trade  or  commerce  of  its  own : 
having  little  or  no  population  beyond  the  Presi- 
dent and  his  estabhshment ;  the  members  of  the 
legislature  who  reside  there  during  the  session ; 
the  Government  clerks  and  officers  employed  in 
the  various  departments ;  the  keepers  of  the  ho- 
tels and  boaraing-houses ;  and  the  tradesmen 
who  supply  their  tables.  It  is  very  unhealthy. 
Few  people  would  live  in  Washington,  I  take 
it,  who  were  not  obliged  to  reside  there ;  and  the 
tides  of  emigration  and  speculation,  those  rapid 
and  regardless  currents,  are  little  likely  to  flow  at 
any  time  towards  such  dull  and  sluggish  water. 

The  principal  features  of  the  Capitol  are,  of 
course,  the  two  Houses  of  Assembly.  But  there 
is,  besides,  in  the  centre  of  the  building,  a  fine 
rotunda,  ninety-six  feet  in  diameter,  ana  ninety- 
six  high,  whose  circular  wall  is  divided  into 
compartments,  ornamented  by  historical  pic- 
tures. Four  of  these  have  lor  their  subjects 
prominent  events  in  the  revolutionary  struggle. 
They  were  painted  by  Colonel  Trumbull,  him- 
self a  member  of  Washington's  staflf  at  the  time 
of  their  occurrence;  from  which  circumstance 
they  derive  a  peculiar  interest  of  their  own.  la 
this  same  hall  Mr.  Grecnough's  large  statue  of 
Washington  has  been  lately  placed.  It  has 
great  merits  of  course,  but  it  struck  me  as  being 
rather  strained  and  violent  for  its  subject.  1 
could  wish,  however,  to  have  seen  it  in  a  better 


light  than  it  ever  can 
stands. 


be  viewed  in,  where  it 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


There  is  a  very  pleasant  and  commodious  li- 
brary in  the  Capitol ;  and,  from  a  balcony  in 
fifont,  the  bird's-eye  view,  of  which  I  have  just 
■pokea,  may  be  had,  together  with  a  beautiful 
prospect  of  the  adjacent  country.  In  one  of  the 
ornamented  portions  of  the  building,  there  is  a 
figure  of  Justice ;  whereunto  the  Guide  Book 
says,  "  the  artist  first  contemplated  giving  more 
of  nudity,  but  he  was  warned  that  the  public 
sentiment  in  this  country  would  not  admit  of  it, 
and  in  his  caution  he  has  gone,  perhaps,  into  the 
opposite  extreme."  Poor  Justice  1  she  has  been 
made  to  wear  much  stranger  garments  in  Ameri- 
ca than  those  she  pines  in,  in  the  Capitol.  Let 
OS  hope  that  she  has  changed  her  dress-maker 
since  they  were  fashioned,  and  that  the  public 
sentiment  of  the  country  did  not  cut  out  the 
clothes  she  hides  her  lovely  figure  in,  just  now. 

The  House  of  Representatives  is  a  beautiful 
and  spacious  hall,  of  semi-circular  shape,  sup- 
portea  by  handsome  pillars.  One  part  of  the 
gallery  is  appropriated  to  the  ladies,  and  there 
tney  sit  in  front  rows,  and  rx*  .e  in,  and  go  out, 
as  at  a  play  or  concert.  The  chair  is  canopied, 
and  raised  considerably  above  the  floor  of  the 
Hotise;  and  every  member  has  an  easy  chair 
and  a  writing-desk  to  himself;  which  is  de- 
nounced by  some  people  out  of  doors  as  a  most 
unfortunate  and  injuaicious  arrangement,  tend- 
ing to  long  sitting  and  prosaic  speeches.  It  is 
an  elegant  chamber  to  look  at,  but  a  singularly 
bad  one  for  all  purposes  of  hearing.  The  Senate, 
which  is  smaller,  is  free  from  this  objection,  and 
is  exceedingly  well  adapted  to  the  uses  for  which 
it  is  designed.  The  sittings,  I  need  hardly  add, 
take  place  in  the  day;  and  the  parliamentary 
fbrms  are  modelled  on  uiose  of  the  old  conntr}'. 

1  was  sometimes  asked,  in  my  progress  through 
other  places,  whether  I  had  not  been  very  much 
impressed  by  the  heads  of  the  lawmakers  at 
Washington;  meaning  not  their  chiefs  and  lead- 
ers, but  literally  their  individual  and  personal 
heads,  whereon  their  hair  grew,  and  whereby 
the  phrenological  character  of  each  legislator 
was  expressed :  and  I  almost  as  often  struck  my 
questioner  dumb  with  indiapant  consternation 
by  answering  "  No,  that  I  didn't  remember  be- 
ing at  all  overcome."  As  I  must,  at  whatever 
hazard,  repeat  the  avowal  here,  I  will  follow  it 
up  by  relating  my  impressions  on  this  subject  in 
as  few  words  as  possible. 

In  the  first  place — it  may  be  from  some  imper- 
fect development  of  my  organ  of  veneration — I 
do  not  remember  having  ever  fainted  away,  or 
having  even  been  moved  to  tears  of  joyful  pride, 
at  sight  of  any  legislative  body.  I  have  borne 
the  House  of  Commons  like  a  man,  and  have 

gelded  to  no  weakness,  but  slumber,  in  the 
ouse  of  Lords.  I  have  seen  elections  for  bor- 
ough and  county,  and  have  never  been  impelled 
(no  matter  which  party  won)  to  damage  my  hat 
by  throwing  it  up  into  the  air  in  triumph,  or  to 
crack  my  voice  by  shouting  forth  any  reference 
to  our  Glorious  Constitution,  to  the  noble  purity 
of  our  independent  voters,  or  the  unimpeachable 
integrity  of  our  independent  members.  Having 
withstood  such  strong  attacks  upon  my  fortitude, 
it  is  possible  that  I  may  be  of  a  cold  and  insensi- 
ble temperament,  amounting  to  iciness,  in  such 
matters ;  and  therefore  my  impressions  of  the 
live  pillars  of  the  Capitol  at  Washington  must 
be  received  with  such  grains  of  allowance  as 
this  free  confession  may  seem  to  demand. 

Did  I  see  in  this  public  body,  an  assemblage 
of  men,  bound  together  in  the  sacred  names  of 


Liberty  and  Freedom,  and  so  asserting  the  chaste 
dignity  of  those  twin  goddesses,  in  all  their  dis- 
cussions, as  to  exalt  at  once  the  Eternal  Princi- 
ples to  which  their  names  are  given,  and  their 
own  character,  and  the  character  of  their  coun« 
tiymen,  in  the  admiring  eyes  of  the  whole  world  t 

It  was  but  a  week,  since  an  aged,  gray-haired 
man,  a  lasting  honour  to  the  land  that  gave  him 
birth,  who  has  done  good  service  to  his  country, 
as  his  forefathers  did,  and  who  will  be  remember- 
ed scores  upon  scores  of  years  alter  the  worms 
bred  in  its  corruption,  are  out  so  many  grains  of 
dust — it  was  but  a  week,  since  this  old  man  had 
stood  for  days  upon  his  trial  before  this  very 
body,  charged  with  having  dared  to  assert  the 
infamy  of  that  traffic,  which  has,  for  its  accurst 
merchandize,  men  and  women,  and  their  unborn 
children.  Yes.  And  publicly  exhibited  in  the 
same  city  all  the  while;  gilded,  framed  and 
glazed;  hung  up  for  general  admiration ;  shown 
to  strangers,  not  with  shame,  but  pride ;  its  face 
not  turned  towards  the  wall,  itself  not  taken  down 
and  burned;  is  the  Unanimous  Declaration  of 
the  The  Thirteen  United  States  of  America, 
which  solemnly  declares  that  All  Men  are  cre- 
ated Equal ;  and  are  endowed  by  their  Creator 
with  the  Inalienable  Rights  of  Life,  Liberty,  and 
the  Pursuit  of  Happiness ! 

It  was  not  a  month,  since  this  same  body  had 
sat  calmly  by,  and  heard  a  man,  one  of  them- 
selves, with  oaths,  which  beggars  in  their  drink 
reject,  threaten  to  cut  another's  throat  from  ear 
to  ear.  There  he  sat,  among  them ;  not  crushed 
by  the  general  feeling  of  the  assembly,  but  as 
good  a  man  as  any. 

There  was  but  a  week  to  come,  and  another 
of  that  body,  for  doing  his  duty  to  those  who  sent 
him  there ;  for  claiming  in  a  Republic  the  Liber- 
ty and  Freedom  of  expressing  their  sentiments, 
and  making  known  their  prayer;  would  be  tried^ 
found  guilty,  and  have  strong  censure  passea 
upon  him  by  the  rest.  His  was  a  grave  ofiience 
indeed ;  for  years  before,  he  had  risen  up  and 
said,  "  A  gang  of  male  and  female  slaves  for 
sale,  warranted  to  breed  like  cattle,  linked  to 
each  other  by  iron  fetters,  are  passing  now  along 
the  open  street  beneath  the  windows  of  your 
Temple  of  Equality !  Look !"  But  there  are 
many  kinds  of  hunters  engaged  in  the  Pursuit  of 
Happiness,  and  they  go  variously  armed.  It  is 
the  Inalienable  Right  of  some  among  them,  to 
take  the  field  afler  their  Happiness,  equipped 
with  cat  and  cartwhip,  stocks,  and  iron  collar, 
and  to  shout  their  view  halloa !  (always  in  praise 
of  Liberty),  to  the  music  of  clanking  chains  and 
bloody  stripes. 

Where  sat  the  many  legislators  of  coarse 
threats;  of  words  and  blows  such  as  coal-heav- 
ers deal  upon  each  other,  when  they  foi^ot  their 
breeding  7  On  every  side.  Every  session  had 
its  anecdotes  of  that  kind,  and  the  actors  were  all 
there. 

Did  I  recognise  in  this  assembly,  a  body  of 
men,  who  applying  themselves  in  a  new  world  to 
correct  some  of  the  falsehoods  and  vices  of  the 
old,  purified  the  avenues  to  Public  Life,  paved 
the  dirty  ways  to  Place  and  Power,  debated  and 
made  laws  for  the  Common  Good,  and  had  no 
party  but  their  Country? 

I  saw  in  them,  the  wheels  that  move  the  mean- 
est perversion  of  virtuous  Political  Machinery 
that  the  worst  tools  ever  wrought.  Despicable 
trickery  at  elections ;  under-handed  tamperings 
with  public  officers;  cowardly  attacks  upon  op- 
ponents, with  scurrilous  newspapers  for  8hielas« 


NOTES    ON    AMERICA. 


47 


og  the  chaste 
all  their  dis- 
smal  Princi- 
n,  and  their 
their  coun- 
hole  world  1 
gray-haired 
at  gave  him 
his  country, 
'■  remeraber- 
'  the  worms 
ly  grains  of 
)ld  man  had 
e  this  vaj 
>  assert  the 
ts  accursed 
leir  unborn 
>ited  in  the 
tuned  and 
on ;  shown 
le;  its  face 
aken  down 
laration  of 
■  America, 
en  are  ere- 
sir  Creator 
•iberty,  and 

:  body  had 
e  of  them- 
their  drink 
t  from  ear 
ot  crushed 
>ly,  but  as 

id  another 
e  who  sent 
the  Liber- 
entiments. 
Id  be  tried- 
ire  passea 
ve  oflence 
m  up  and 
slaves  for 
linked  to 
low  along 
s  of  your 
there  are 
Pursuit  of 
ted.    It  Is 
:  them,  to 
equipped 
on  collar, 
I  in  praise 
liains  and 

)f  coarse 
oal-heav- 
rgot  their 
ision  had 
i  were  all 

bodv  of 
world  to 
Bs  of  the 
e,  paved 
ited  and 

had  no 

e  mean- 
ichinery 
spicable 
iperings 
pon  op- 
shields. 


and  hired  pens  for  daggers ;  shameful  truckling^ 
to  mercenary  knaves  wiiose  claim  to  be  consider- 
ed, is,  that  every  day  and  week  they  sow  new 
crops  of  ruin  with  iheir  venal  types,  which  are 
the  dragon's  teeth  of  yore,  in  everything  but 
sharpnesjs;  aidings  and  abetiings  of  everv  bad 
inclination  in  the  popular  mind,  and  artful  sup- 
pressions of  all  its  good  influences :  such  things 
Hn  these,  and  in  a  word.  Dishonest  Faction  in  its 
most  depraved  and  most  unblushing  form,  stared 
out  from  every  comer  of  the  crowded  hall. 

Did  I  see  among  them,  the  intelligence  and  re- 
finement: the  true,  honest,  patriotic  heart  of 
America  1  Here  and  there,  were  drops  of  its 
blood  and  lile,  but  they  scarcely  coloured  the 
stream  of  desperate  adventurers  which  sets  that 
way  for  proht  and  for  pay.  It  is  the  game  of 
these  men,  and  of  their  profligate  organs,  to  make 
the  strife  of  politics  so  fierce  and  brutiil,  and  so 
destructive  oi  all  self-respect  in  worthy  men,  that 
sensitive  and  delicate-minded  persons  shall  be 
kept  aloof,  and  they,  and  such  as  they,  be  left  to 
battle  out  their  selfish  views,  unchecked.  And 
thus  this  lowest  of  all  scrambling  fighu  goes  on, 
and  they  who  in  other  countries  would,  from 
their  intelligence  and  station,  most  aspire  to 
make  laws,  do  here  recoil  the  farthest  from  that 
degradation. 

That  there  are,  among  the  representatives  of 
the  people  in  both  houses,  and  among  all  parties, 
some  men  of  high  character  and  great  abilities,  I 
need  not  say.  The  foremost  among  these  politi- 
cians who  are  known  in  Europe,  have  been  al- 
ready described,  and  I  see  no  reason  to  depart 
from  the  rule  I  have  laid  down  for  my  guidance, 
of  abstaining  from  all  mention  of  individuals.  It 
will  be  sufficient  to  add,  that  to  the  most  favour- 
able accounts  that  have  been  written  of  them,  I 
more  than  fully  and  most  heartily  subscribe;  and 
that  personal  intercourse  and  tree  communica- 
tion have  bred  within  me,  not  the  result  predicted 
in  the  very  doubtful  proverb,  but  increased  ad- 
miration and  respect.  They  are  striking  men  to 
look  at,  hard  to  deceive,  prompt  to  act,  lions  in 
energy,  Crichtons  in  varied  accomplishments, 
Indians  in  fire  of  eye  and  gesture,  Americans  in 
strong  and  generous  impulse ;  and  they  as  well 
represent  the  honour  and  wisdom  of  their  coun- 
try at  home,  as  the  distinguished  gentleman  who 
is  now  its  minister  at  the  British  Court  sustains 
its  highest  character  abroad. 

I  visited  both  houses  nearly  every  day,  during; 
my  stay  in  Washington.  On  my  initiatory  visit 
to  the  House  of  Representatives,  they  divided 
against  a  decision  of  the  chair ;  but  the  chair 
won.  The  second  time  I  went,  the  member  who 
was  speaking,  bein^  interrupted  by  a  laugh,  mim- 
icked it,  as  one  child  would  in  quarrelling  with 
another,  and  added,  "  that  he  would  make  hon- 
ourable gentlemen  op{>osite,  sing  out  a  little  more 
on  the  other  side  of  their  mouths  presently."  But 
interruptions  are  rare ;  the  speaker  being  usually 
heard  in  silence.  There  are  more  quarrels  than 
with  us,  and  more  threatenings  than  gentlemen 
arc  accustomed  to  exchange  in  any  civilized  so- 
ciety of  which  we  have  record  j  but  farmvard 
imitations  have  not  as  yet  been  imported  from 
the  Parliament  of  the  United  Kingdom.  The 
feature  in  oratory  which  appears  to  be  the  most 
practised,  and  most  relished,  is  the  constant  rep- 
etition of  the  same  idea  or  shadow  of  an  idea  in 
fresh  words ;  and  the  inquiry  out  of  doors  is  not, 
"  Whai  did  he  say  V  but,  "  How  long  did  he 
speak  1"  These,  however,  are  but  enlargements 
of  a  principle  which  prevails  elsewhere. 


The  Senate  is  a  dignified  and  decorous  body, 
and  its  proceedings  are  conducted  with  much 
gravity  and  order.  Both  houses  are  handsomely 
ciupeted ;  but  the  state  to  which  these  carpets  are 
reduced  by  the  universal  disregard  of  the  spittoon 
with  which  every  honourable  member  is  accom- 
modated,  and  the  extraordinary  improvements  on 
the  patten)  which  are  squirted  and  dabbled  upon 
it  in  every  direction,  do  not  admit  of  being  de- 
scribed. I  will  merely  observe,  that  I  strongly 
recommend  all  strangers  not  to  look  at  the  fioor; 
and  if  they  happen  to  drop  anything,  though  it 
be  their  purs^,  not  to  pick  it  up  with  an  ungloved 
hand  on  any  acount. 

It  is  some\  4^.  remarkable,  too,  at  first,  to  say 
the  least,  to  see  so  many  honourable  members 
with  swelled  faces ;  ana  it  is  scaicely  less  re- 
markable to  discover  that  this  appearance  is 
caused  by  the  quantity  of  tobacco  they  contrive 
to  stow  within  the  hollow  of  the  cheek.  It  is 
strange  enough  too,  to  see  an  honourable  gentle- 
man leaning  back  in  his  tilted  chair  with  his  legs 
on  the  desk  before  him,  shaping  a  convenient 
"  plug"  with  his  penknife,  and  when  it  is  quite 
ready  for  use,  snooting  the  old  one  Irom  his 
mouth,  as  from  a  pop-gun,  and  clapping  the  new 
one  in  its  place. 

I  was  surprised  to  observe  that  even  steady 
old  chewers  of  great  experience,  are  not  always 
good  marksmen,  which  has  rather  inclined  me 
to  doubt  that  general  proficiency  with  the  rifle, 
of  which  we  have  heard  so  much  in  England. 
Several  gentlemen  called  upon  me  who,  in  the 
course  of  conversation,  irequently  missed  the 
spittoon  at  five  paces ;  and  one  (but  he  was  cer- 
tainly short-sighted)  mistook  the  closed  sash  for 
the  open  window,  at  three.  On  another  occa/- 
sion,  when  I  dined  out,  and  was  sitting  with  two 
ladies  and  some  gentlemen  round  a  fire  before 
dinner,  one  of  the  company  fell  short  of  the  fire- 

glace  six  distinct  times.  I  am  disposed  to  think, 
owever,  that  this  was  occasioned  by  his  not 
aiming  at  that  object ;  as  there  was  a  white  mar- 
ble hearth  before  the  fender,  which  was  more  con- 
venient, and  may  have  suited  his  purpose  better. 
The  Patent  Oflice  at  Washington,  furnishes 
an  extraordinary  example  of  American  enter- 
prise and  ingenuity ;  for  the  immense  number  of 
models  it  contains,  are  the  accumulated  inven- 
tions of  only  five  years:  the  whole  of  the  previous 
collection  having  been  destroyed  by  fire.  The 
elegant  structure  in  which  they  are  arranged,  is 
one  of  design  rather  than  execution,  for  there  is 
but  one  side  erected  out  of  four,  though  the  works 
are  stopped.     The  Post  Office  is  a  very  com- 

Sact,  and  very  beautiful  building.  In  one  of  the 
apartments,  among  a  ''.ollection  of  rare  and  cu- 
rious articles,  are  deposited  the  presents  which 
have  been  made  from  time  to  time  to  the  Ameri- 
can ambassadors  at  foreign  courts  by  the  various 
potentates  to  whom  they  were  the  accredited 
agents  of  the  Republic :  gifts  which  by  the  law 
they  are  not  permitted  to  retain.  I  confess  that 
I  looked  upon  this  as  a  very  painful  exhibition^ 
and  one  by  no  means  flattermg  to  the  national 
standard  of  honesty  and  honour.  That  can 
scarcely  be  a  high  state  of  .moral  feeling  which 
imagines  a  gentleman  of  repute  and  station,  like- 
ly to  be  corrupted,  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty, 
by  the  present  of  a  snufiT-box,  or  a  richly-moimt- 
ed  sword,  or  an  Eastern  shawl :  and  surely  the 
Nation  who  reposes  confidence  in  her  appointed 
servants,  is  likely  to  be  better  served,  Uiar^she 
who  makes  them  the  subject  of  such  very  meta 
and  paltry  suspicions. 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


At  George  Town,  in  the  suburbs,  there  is  a 
Jesuit  College ;  delightfully  situated,  and,  so  far 
as  I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing,  well  managed. 
Many  persons  who  are  not  members  of  the  Rom- 
ish Church,  avail  themselves,  I  believe,  of  these 
institutions,  and  of  the  advantageous  opportuni- 
ties they  afford  for  the  education  of  their  cnildren. 
The  heights  in  this  neighbourhood,  above  the 
Potomac  River,  are  very  picturesque ;  and  are 
free,  I  should  conceive,  Irom  some  of  the  insalu- 
brities of  Washington.  The  air,  at  that  eleva- 
tion, was  quite  cool  and  refreshing,  when  in  the 
city  it  was  burning  hot. 

The  President's  mansion  is  more  like  an 
English  club-house,  both  within  and  without, 
than  any  other  kind  of  establishment  with  which 
I  can  compare  it.  The  ornamental  ground  about 
it  has  been  laid  out  in  garden  walks ;  they  are 
pretty,  and  agreeable  to  the  eye ;  though  they 
nave  that  uncomfortable  air  of  having  been  made 
yesterday,  which  is  far  from  favourable  to  the 
ciaplay  of  such  beauties. 

My  first  visit  to  this  house  was  on  the  morning 
after  my  arrival,  when  I  was  carried  thither  by 
an  ofKcial  gentleman,  who  was  so  kind  as  to 
charge  himself  with  my  presentation  to  the  Pres- 
ident. 

We  entered  a  laree  hall,  and  having  twice  or 
thrice  rung  a  bell  which  nobody  answered,  walk- 
ed without  farther  ceremony  through  the  rooms 
on  the  groimd  floor,  as  divers  other  gentlemen 
(mostly  with  their  hats  on,  and  their  hands  in 
their  pockets)  were  doing  very  leisurely.  Some 
of  these  had  ladies  with  them,  to  whom  they 
were  showing  the  premises;  others  were  lounging 
on  the  chairs  and  sofas ;  others,  in  a  perfect  state 
of  exhaustion  from  listlessness,  were  yawning 
drearily.  The  greater  portion  of  this  assemblage 
were  rather  asserting  their  supremacy  than  doing 
anything  else,  as  thev  had  no  particular  business 
there,  that  anybody  knew  of.  A  few  were  close- 
Iv  eying  the  movables,  as  if  to  make  sure  that 
tne  President  (who  was  far  from  ^pular)  had 
Dot  made  away  with  any  of  the  furniture,  or  sold 
(he  fixtures  for  his  private  Ijenefit. 
'  After  glancing  at  these  loungers  ;  who  were 
Ecattered  over  a  pretty  drawing-room,  opening 
upon  a  terrace  wnich  commanded  a  beautiful 
prospect  of  the  river  and  the  adjacent  country; 
and  who  werei  sauntering,  too,  about  a  larger 
state  room  called  the  Eastern  Drawing-room ; 
we  went  up  stairs  into  another  chamber,  where 
were  certain  visiters,  waiting  for  audiences.  At 
sight  of  my  conductor,  a  black  in  plain  clothes 
and  yellow  slippers  who  was  gliding  noiselessly 
about,  and  whispering  messa^s  in  the  ears  of 
the  more  impatient,  made  a  sign  of  recognition, 
and  glided  on  to  announce  him. 

We  had  previously  looked  into  another  cham- 
ber fitted  ail  rovmd  with  a  great  bare  wooden 
desk  or  counter,  whereon  lay  files  of  newspapers, 
to  which  sundry  gentlemen  were  referring.  But 
there  were  no  such  means  of  beguiling  the  time 
in  this  apartment,  which  was  as  unpromising 
and  tiresome  as  any  waiting  room  in  one  of  our 
public  establishments,  or  any  physician's  dining- 
room  during  his  hours  of  consultation  at  home. 

There  were  some  fifleen  or  twenty  persons  in 
the  room.  One,  a  tall,  wiry,  muscular  old  man, 
from  the  west;  sunburnt  and  swarthy;  with  a 
brown-white  hat  on  his  knees,  and  a  giant  um- 
brella resting  between  his  legs ;  who  sat  bolt  up- 
right in  his  chair,  frowning  steadily  at  the  carpet, 
and  twitching  the  hard  lines  about  his  mouth,  as 
if  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  ''fix"  the  Piesi- 


dent  on  what  he  had  to  say,  and  wouldn't  bate 
him  a  grain.  Another,  a  Kentucky  fanner,  six 
tieet  six  in  height,  with  his  hat  on,  and  his  hands 
under  his  coat-tails,  who  leaned  against  the  wall 
and  kicked  the  floor  with  his  heel,  as  though  he 
had  Time's  head  under  his  shoe,  and  were  liter- 
ally "  killing"  him.  A  third,  an  oval-faced,  bil- 
ious-looking man,  with  sleek  blr  r:k  hair  cropped 
close,  and  whiskers  and  beard  shaved  down  to 
blue  dots,  who  sucked  the  head  of  a  thick  stick, 
and  from  tima  to  time  took  it  out  of  his  mouth, 
to  see  how  it  was  getting  on.  A  fourth  did  no- 
thing but  whistle.  A  fifth  did  nothing  but  spit. 
And  indeed  all  these  gentlemen  were  so  very 
persevering  and  energetic  in  this  latter  particu- 
lar, and  bestowed  their  favours  so  abundantly 
upon  the  carpet,  that  I  take  it  for  granted  the 
Presidential  housemaids  have  high  wages,  or, 
to  speak  more  eenteelly,  an  ample  amount  of 
"  compensation : '  which  is  the  American  word 
for  salary,  in  the  case  of  all  public  servants. 

We  had  not  waited  in  this  room  many  minutes, 
before  the  black  messenger  returned,  and  con- 
ducted us  into  another  of  smaller  dimensions, 
where,  at  a  business-like  table  covered  with  pa- 
pers, sat  the  President  himself.  He  looked  some- 
what worn  and  anxious,  and  well  he  might: 
being  at  war  with  everybody — but  the  expres- 
sion of  his  face  was  mild  and  pleasant,  and  his 
manner  was  remarkably  unaffected,  gentleman- 
ly, and  agreeable.  I  thought  that  in  his  whole 
carriage  and  demeanour,  he  became  his  station 
singularly  well. 

Being  advised  that  the  sensible  etiquette  of  the 
•republican  court,  admitted  of  a  traveller,  like  my- 
self, declining,  without  any  impropriety,  an  in- 
vitation to  dinner,  which  did  not  reach  me  until 
I  had  concluded  my  arrangements  for  leaving 
Washington  some  days  before  that  to  which  it 
referred,  I  only  returned  to  this  house  once.  It 
was  on  the  occasion  of  one  of  those  general  as- 
semblies which  are  held  on  certain  nights  between 
the  hours  of  nine  and  twelve  o'clock,  and  are  call- 
ed, rather  oddly,  Levees. 

I  went,  with  my  wife,  at  about  ten.  There 
was  a  pretty  dense  crowd  of  carriages  and  people 
in  the  court-yard,  and  so  far  as  I  could  make  out, 
there  were  no  rety  clear  regulations  for  the  taking 
up  or  setting  down  of  company.  There  were 
certainly  no  policemen  to  soothe  startled  horses, 
either  by  sawing  at  their  bridles  or  flourie^ng 
truncheons  in  their  eyes;  and  I  am  ready  to 
make  oath  that  no  inoffensive  persons  were 
knocked  violently  on  the  head,  or  poked  acutely 
in  their  backs  or  stomachs ;  or  Drought  to  a 
stand-still  by  any  such  gentle  means,  and  then 
taken  into  custody  for  not  moving  on.  But  there 
was  no  confusion  or  disorder.  Our  carriage 
reached  the  porch  in  its  turn,  without  any  blus- 
tering, swearing,  shouting,  backing,  or  other  dis- 
turbance ;  and  we  dismounted  with  as  much 
ease  and  comfort  as  though  we  had  been  escorted 
by  the  whole  Metropolitan  Force  from  A  to  Z 
inclusive. 

The  suite  of  rooms  on  the  ground-floor  were 
lighted  up ;  and  a  military  band  was  playing  in 
the  hall.  In  the  smaller  drawing-room,  the  centre 
of  a  circle  of  company,  were  the  President  and 
his  daughter-in-law,  who  acted  as  the  lady  of  the 
mansion :  and  a  very  interesting,  graceful,  and 
accomplished  lady  too.  One  gentleman  who 
stood  among  this  group,  appeared  to  take  upon 
himself  the  functions  of  a  master  of  the  ceremo- 
nies. I  saw  no  other  ofl^cers  or  attendants,  and 
none  were  needed.. 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


The  great  drawing-room,  which  I  have  alrt  '.dy 
mentioned,  and  the  other  chambers  on  the  ground- 
floor,  were  crowded  to  excess.  The  company 
was  not,  in  our  sense  of  the  term,  select,  for  it 
comprehended  persons  of  veiy  many  grades  and 
classes :  nor  was  there  any  great  display  of  costly 
attire :  indeed  some  of  the  costumes  may  have 
been,  for  aught  I  know,  grotesque  enough.  But 
the  decorum  and  propriety  of  oehaviour  which 
prevailed,  were  unbroken  by  any  rude  or  disa- 
greeable incident;  and  every  man,  even  among 
the  miscellaneous  crowd  in  the  hall  who  were 
admitted  without  any  orders  or  tickets  to  look 
on,  appeared  to  feel  that  be  was  a  part  of  tht 
Institution,  and  was  fetiponaible  for  its  preserv- 
ing a  becoming  character,  and  appeared  to  the 
best  advantage. 

That  these  visiters,  too,  whatever  their  station, 
were  not  without  some  refinement  of  taste  and 
appreciation  of  intellectual  giAs,  and  ^atitude  to 
those  men  who,  by  the  peaceful  exercise  of  great 
abilities,  shed  new  charms  and  associations  upon 
the  homes  of  their  countrymen,  and  elevate  their 
character  in  other  lands,  was  most  earnestly 
testified  by  their  reception  of  Washington  Irving, 
my  dear  frieud,  who  nad  recently  been  appointed 
Minister  at  the  court  of  Spain,  and  who  was 
among  them  that  night,  in  his  new  character,  for 
the  first  and  last  time  before  going  abroad.  I 
sincerely  believe  that  in  all  the  madness  of 
American  politics,  few  public  men  would  have 
been  so  earnestly,  devotedly,  and  affectionately 
caressed,  as  this  most  charming  writer ;  and  I 
have  seldom  respected  a  public  assembly  more, 
than  I  did  this  eager  throng,  when  I  saw  them 
turning  with  one  mind  from  noisy  orators  and 
officers  of  state,  and  flocking  witn  a  generous 
and  honest  impulse  round  the  man  of  quiet  pur- 
suits ;  proud  in  his  promotion  as  reflecting  back 
upon  their  country ;  and  grateful  :  i  him  with 
their  who'e  hearts  for  the  store  of  graceful  fan- 
cies he  Lid  poured  out  among  them.  Long 
may  he  dispense  such  treasures  with  unsparing 
hand ;  and  long  may  they  remember  mm  as 
worthily ! 

The  term  we  had  assigned  for  the  duration  of 
our  stay  in  Washington,  was  now  at  an  end,  and 
we  were  to  begin  to  travel ;  for  the  railroad  dis- 
tances we  had  traversed  yet,  in  journeying  among 
these  oldec  towns,  are  on  that  great  continent 
looked  upon  as  nothing. 

I  had  at  first  intended  going  South — to  Charles- 
ton. But  when  I  came  to  consider  the  length 
of  time  which  this  journey  would  occupy,  and 
the  premature  heat  of  the  season,  which  even  at 
Washington  h^d  beeu  often  very  trying;  and 
weighed  moreover,  in  my  own  mind,  the  pain  of 
living  in  the  constant  contemplation  of  slavery, 
against  the  more  than  doubtral  chances  of  my 
ever  seeing  it,  in  the  time  I  had  to  spare,  stripped 
of  the  disguises  in  which  it  would  certainly  be 
dressed,  and  so  r '  ling  any  item  to  the  host  of 
facts  already  hen;  ed  together  on  the  subject ;  I 
began  to  listen  to  old  whisperings  which  had  oflen 
been  present  to  me  at  home  in  England,  when  I 
little  thought  of  ever  being  here ;  and  to  dream 
again  of  cities  growing  up,  like  palaces  in  fairy 
tmes,  among  the  wilds  and  forests  of  the  west. 

The  advice  I  received  in  most  quarters  when 
I  began  to  yield  to  my  desire  of  travelling  to- 
wards that  point  of  the  compass  was,  according 
to  custom,  sufficiently  cheerless;  my  companion 
being  threatened  with  more  perils,  dangers,  and 
discomforts,  than  I  can  remember  or  would  cata- 
G 


logue  if  I  could :  but  of  which  4t  will  be  rofl. 
cicnt  to  remark  that  blowings-up  in  steamboali 
and  breakings  down  in  coaches  were  among  tlw 
least.  But,  having  a  western  route  sketched  out 
for  me  by  the  best  and  kindest  authority  to  which 
I  could  have  resorted,  and  putting  no  great  faith 
in  these  discouragements,  I  soon  determined  oA 
my  plan  of  action. 

This  was  to  travel  south,  only  to  Richmond 
in  Virginia;  and  then  to  turn,  and  shape  our 
course  for  the  Far  West;  whitaer  I  beseech  the 
reader's  company. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

A    NIOHT-STBAMKB    ON    THE    POTOMAC    KITBR.-^A 
VIROINIA   ROAD,   AND  A    BLACK    DRIVBK. — RICIH 

MOND. — BALTIMORB. THE  HARRI8BUROH  MAIt^ 

AND  A  OUMP8B  OP  TUB  CITV.— A  CANAL- BOAT. 

We  were  to  proceed  in  the  first  instance  br 
steamboat :  and  as  it  is  usual  to  sleep  on  board, 
in  consequence  of  the  Starting  hour  being  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  we  went  down  to  wher9 
she  lay,  at  that  very  uncomfortable  time  for  suoh 
expeditions  when  8lipp«rs  are  most  valuable, 
and  a  familiar  bed,  in  the  perspective  of  an  hoar 
or  two,  looks  uncommonly  pleasant. 

It  is  ten  o'clock  at  night :  say  half  past  ten ; 
moonlight,  warm,  and  dull  enough.  "The  steam- 
er (not  unlike  a  child's  Noah's  ark  in  form,  with 
the  machinery  on  the  top  of  the  roof)  is  riding 
lazily  up  and  down,  and  bumping  clumsily 
against  the  wooden  pier,  as  the  ripple  of  tte 
river  trifles  with  its  unwieldy  carcase.  Ihe 
wharf  is  some  distance  from  the  city.  There 
is  nobody  down  here ;  and  one  or  two  dull  lamp* 
upon  the  steamer's  decks  are  the  only  signs  of 
life  remaining,  when  our  coach  has  driven  away 
As  soon  as  our  footsteps  are  heard  upon  the 
planks,  a  fat  negress,  particularly  favoured  bj 
Nature  in  respect  of  bustle,  emerges  from  soma 
dark  stairs,  and  marshals  my  wife  towarda  tba 
ladies'  cabin,  to  which  retreat  she  goes,  follow- 
ed by  a  mighty  bale  of  cloaks  and  great-coata. 
I  valiantly  resolve  not  to  go  to  bed  at  all,  bat  tt» 
.valk  up  and  down  the  pier  till  morning. 

I  begin  my  promenade— thinking  of  all  kind* 
of  distant  things  and  persons,  and  of  nothing 
near — and  pace  up  and  down  foir  half  an  hoot. 
Then  I  go  on  board  again ;  and  getting  into  tba 
light  of  one  of  the  lamps,  look  at  my  watcb,  and 
think  it  must  have  stopped  ;  and  wonder  what 
has  become  of  the  faithful  secretary  whom  I 
brought  along  with  me  from  Boston.  He  is 
supping  with  onr  late  landlord  (a  field-marshaU 
at  least,  no  doubt)  in  honour  of  our  departure, 
and  may  be  l.wp  hours  longer.  I  walk  again, 
but  it  gets  duller  and  duller :  the  moon  goes 
down :  next  June  seems  farther  off  in  the  dark, 
and  the  echoes  of  my  footsteps  make  me  nerv- 
ous. It  has  turned  cold  too ;  and  w^alking  up 
and  down  without  any  companion  in  such  lone- 
ly circumstances,  is  but  poor  amusement.  So 
I  break  my  stanch  resolution,  and  think  it  may 
be,  perhaps,  as  well  to  go  to  bed. 

I  go  on  hoard  again ;  open  the  door  of  the 
gentleman's  cabin,  and  walk  in.  Somehow  or 
other — from  its  being  so  quiet  I  suppose — I  have 
taken  it  into  my  head  that  there  is  nobody 
there.  To  my  horror  and  amazement  it  is  full 
of  sleepers  in  every  stage,  shape,  attitude,  and 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


variety  ^falaniilMr:  in  the  berths,  on  Ihe  chain, 
•s  the  iluora,  oa  the  Uiblra,  and  particularly 
round  the  atove.  nay  detest«^  enemy.  I  take 
•nothfr  atef  forward,  and  aiip  upon  the  ahining 
iioe  of  a  black  steward,  who  lies  rolled  in  a 
Maokflt  on  the  floor.  He  jumps  up,  grins,  half 
Id  pain  and  half  In  hospitality ;  whispers  my 
own  name  in  my  ear ;  and  groping  among  the 
•leepers,  leads  me  to  oiy  berth.  Standing  be 
side  it,  I  count  these  slumbering  passengers, 
aud  get  past  forty.  There  is  no  use  in  going 
farther,  so  I  begin  to  undress.  As  the  chairs 
are  all  occupied,  and  there  is  nothing  else  to  put 
my  clothes  on,  I  deposite  them  upon  the  ground  : 
not  without  soiling  my  hands,  for  it  is  in  i\te 
same  condition  as  the  carpets  in  the  Capitol, 
•nd  from  the  same  cause.  Having  but  partial- 
ly undressed,  I  clamber  on  my  shelf,  and  hold 
tfie  curtain  open  for  a  few  minutes  while  I  look 
,  round  on  all  my  fellow-travellers  again.  That 
done,  I  let  it  fall  on  them,  and  on  the  world : 
turn  round,  and  go  to  sleep. 

I  wake,  of  course,  when  we  get  under  weigh, 
Ibr  there  is  a  good  deal  of  noise.  The  day  is 
then  just  breaking.  Everybody  wakes  at  the 
■wne  time.  Some  are  self-possessed  directly, 
and  some  are  much  perplexed  to  make  out 
where  they  are  until  they  have  nibbed  their 
ojres,  and,  leaning  on  one  elbow,  look  about 
them.  Some  yawn,  some  groan,  nearly  all  spit, 
and  a  few  get  up.  I  am  among  the  risers  :  for 
h  is  easy  to  feel,  without  going  into  the  fresh 
air,  that  the  atmosphere  in  the  cabin  is  vile  in 
the  Ia8t  degree.  I  huddle  on  my  clothes,  go 
down  into  tbe  fore-cabin,  get  shaved  by  the  bar- 
ber, and  wash  myself.  The  washing  and  dress- 
ing apparatus  for  the  passengers  generally,  con- 
sists of  two  jack  towels,  three  small  wooden 
basins,  a  keg  of  water  and  a  ladle  to  serve  it 
out  with,  six  square  inches  of  looking-glass,  two 
ditto  ditto  of  yellow  soap,  a  comb  and  brush  for 
tbe  head,  and  nothing  for  the  teeth.  Every- 
body uses  the  comb  and  brush  except  myself. 
Everybody  stares  to  see  me  using  my  own ;  and 
two  or  three  gentlemen  are  strongly  disposed  to 
banter  me  on  my  prejudices,  but  don't.  When 
I  have  made  my  toilet,  I  go  upon  the  hurricane- 
deck,  and  set  in  for  two  hours  of  hard  walking 
up  and  down.  The  sun  is  rising  brilliantly ;  we 
are  passing  Mount  Vernon,  where  Washington 
lies  buried  ;  the  river  is  wide  and  rapid  ;  and 
its  banks  are  beautiful.  All  the  glory  and  splen- 
dour of  the  day  are  coming  on,  and  growing 
brighter  every  minute. 

At  eight  o'clock,  we  breakfast  in  the  cabin 
■where  I  passed  the  night,  but  the  windows  and 
doors  are  all  thrown  open,  and  now  it  is  fresh 
enough.  There  is  no  hurry  or  greediness  appa- 
rent in  the  despatch  of  the  meal.  It  is  longer 
than  a  travelling  breakfast  with  us  ;  more  or- 
derly, and  more  polite, 

Soon  after  nine  o'clock  we  come  to  Potomac 
Creek,  where  we  are  to  land  :  and  then  comes 
the  oddest  part  of  the  journey.  Seven  stage- 
eoaches  are  preparing  to  carry  us  on.  Some  of 
them  are  ready,  some  of  them  are  not  ready. 
Some  of  the  drivers  are  blacks,  some  whites. 
There  are  four  horses  to  eacii  coach,  and  all  the 
horses,  harnessed  or  unharnessed,  are  there. 
The  passengers  are  getting  «)nt  of  the  steam- 
loat, and  into  the  coaches;  the  Insrgace  is  being 
transferred  in  noisy  wheelbarrows,  the  horses 


arf  frightened,  and  impatient  to  start ;  the  black 
dri«\^rs  are  chattering  to  th<-m  like  so  many 
monkeys  ;  and  the  white  ones  whooping  like  so 
many  drovers  ;  for  the  main  thing  to  be  done  in 
all  kinds  of  hostering  here,  is  to  make  as  much 
noise  as  possible,  'i'he  coaches  are  something 
like  the  French  coaches,  but  not  nearly  so  good. 
In  lieu  of  springs,  they  are  hung  on  bands  of 
the  strongest  leather.  There  is  very  little  choice 
or  difference  between  them  ;  and  they  may  be 
likened  to  the  car  portion  of  the  swings  at  aa 
English  fair,  roofed,  put  upon  axle-trees  and 
wheels,  and  curtained  with  painted  canvasa. 
They  are  covered  with  mud  fror  ibe  roof  to  the 
wheel-tire,  and  have  never  been  cleaned  since 
they  were  first  built. 

The  tickets  we  have  received  on  board  the 
steambbat  are  marked  No.  1,  so  we  belong  to 
coach  No.  1.  I  throw  my  coat  on  the  box,  aiid 
hoist  my  wife  and  her  maid  into  the  inside.  It 
has  only  one  step,  and  that  being  about  a  yard 
from  the  ground,  is  usually  approached  by  a 
chair :  when  there  is  no  chair,  ladies  trust  io 
Providence.  The  coach  holds  nine  inside,  hav- 
ing a  seat  across  from  door  to  door,  where  we 
in  England  put  our  legs  :  so  that  there  is  only 
one  feat  more  difllcult  in  the  performance  thaa 
getting  in,  and  that  is,  getting  out  again.  There 
is  only  one  outside  passenger,  and  he  sits  upon 
the  box.  As  I  am  that  one,  I  climb  up ;  and 
while  they  are  strapping  the  luggage  on  the  roof, 
and  heaping  it  into  a  kind  of  tray  behind,  have 
a  good  opportunity  of  looking  at  the  driver. 

He  is  a  negro — very  black  indeed.  He  is 
dressed  :n  a  coarse  pepper-and-salt  suit  exces- 
sively patched  and  darned  (particularly  at  the 
knees);  gray  stockings,  enormous  unblacked 
high-low  shoes,  and  very  short  trousers.  He 
has  twM'odd  gloves:  one  of  parti-coloured 
worsted,  and  one  of  leather.  He  has  a  very 
short  whip,  broken  in  the  middle  and  bandaged 
up  with  string.  And  yet  he  wears  a  low-crown- 
ed, broad-brimmed,  black  hat :  faintly  shadow- 
ing forth  a  kind  of  insane  imitation  of  an  Eng>- 
lish  coachman  !  But  somebody  jn  authority 
cries  "  Go  ahead  !"  as  I  am  making  these  ob- 
servations. The  mail  takes  the  lead  in  a  four-' 
horse  wagon,  and  all  the  coach^-s  follow  in  pro> 
cession,  headed  by  No.  1. 

Bythe-way.  whenever  an  Englishman  would 
cry  "All  right !"  an  American  cries  "Go  ahead !" 
which  is  somewhat  expressive  of  the  national 
character  of  the  two  countries. 

The  first  half  mile  of  the  road  is  over  bridges 
made  of  loose  planks  laid  across  two  parallet 
poles,  which  tilt  up  as  the  wheels  roll  over 
them,  and  in  the  river.  The  river  has  a  clayey 
bottom,  and  is  full  of  holes,  so  that  half  a  horse 
is  constantly  disappearing  unexpectedly,  and 
can't  be  found  again  for  some  time. 

But  we  get  past  even  this,  and  come  to  the 
road  itself,  which  is  a  series  of  alternate  swamps 
and  gravel-pits.  A  tremendous  place  is  close 
before  us,  the  black  driver  rolls  his  eyes,  screws 
his  mouth  up  very  round,  and  looks  straight  be- 
tween the  two  leaders,  as  if  he  were  saying  to 
himself,  "  We  have  done  this  often  before,  but 
■now  I  think  we  shall  have  a  crash."  He  takes 
a  rein  in  each  hand,  jerks  and  pulls  at  both,  and 
dances  on  the  splashboard  with  both  feet  (keep- 
ing his  seat,  of  course)  like  the  lamented  Du- 
orow  on  two  of  his  fiery  coursers.    Wo  come  to 


rt  i  the  black 
ie  so  many 
I'ping  like  90 
o  be  dtiue  in 
>ke  as  much 
e  something 
arly  so  good, 
in  bands  or 
'  little  choice 
they  may  be 
wrings  at  an 
le-trees  and 
id  canvasa. 
e  roof  to  the 
raned  aiooe 

board  the 
'e  belonf  to 
he  box,  alid 
)  inside.    It 
>>out  a  yard 
ached  by  a 
tea  trust  in 
inside,  ha^- 
r,  where  we 
lere  is  only 
nance  thaa 
rain.   There 
le  sits  upon 
nb  up ;  and 
on  the  roof, 
ehind,  have 
driver. 
«d.    He  is 
suit  exces- 
larly  at  the 
s  unblacked 
)users.    He 
irti-coloured 
has  a  very 
id  bandaged 
low-crown> 
\y  shadow, 
of  an  Engk 
n  authority 
?  these  ot>> 
1  in  a  four-> 
low  in  pro> 

man  would 
So  ahead!" 
le  national 

ver  bridges 
vo  parallel 
I  roll  over 
38  a  clayey 
alf  a  horse 
tedly,  and 

ime  to  the 

te  swamps 

!e  is  close 

es,  screws 

iraight  be- 
say  ing  to 

lefore,  bu$ 
He  takes 
both,  and 

cet  (keep- 

jHted  Du> 

0  come  to 


NOTES    ON  AMERICA. 


the  apot,  sink  down  fa  the  mire  nearly  to  th  9 
coach  winduwa,  tilt  on  one  stdo  st  an  angle  of 
foriy-five  degrees,  aad  alick  (here.  The  inaidea 
scream  dismally  1  the  uoaoh  stops  ;  the  buraea 
lltHinder ;  all  the  other  six  coaches  atop  ;  and 
their  Ibur-and-twenty  huraea  flounder  likewise, 
but  merely  for  company,  and  in  aympalhy  with 
ours    llien  the  fudu  wiug  circuinaUncea  occur : 

Black  Daivaa  (to  the  horses).  "  Hi !" 

Nothing  happens.    Inaidea  ucream  again. 

Black  Dbivbb  (to  the  horses).  "  Ho !"        m 

Huraea  plunge,  and  splash  the  biauk  driver. 

Obntlkman  insidb (looking out).  "Why, what 
on  airth — " 

Gentleman  receives  a  variety  of  aplashes,  and 
drawa  his  head  in  again,  without  finishing  his 
question  or  waiting  for  an  anawer. 

Black  Dbivbb  (still  to  the  horses).  *•  Jiddy ! 
Jiddy !" 

Horses  pull  violently,  drag  the  coach  out  of 
the  hole,  and  draw  it  up  a  bank,  so  steep  thai 
the  black  driver's  legs  fly  up  into  the  air,  and  he 
goes  back  among  the  luggage  on  the  roof.  But 
be  immediately  recovers  himself,  and  cries  (still 
to  the  horses), 

"Piil!"     , 

No  elTect.*  On  the  contrary,  the  coach  be- 
gins to  roll  hack  upon  No.  2,  which  rolls  back 
upon  No  3,  which  rolls  back  upon  No.  4,  and  so 
on,  until  No.  7  is  heard  to  curse  and  swear, 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile  behind. 

Black  Dbivbb  (louder  than  before).  "  Pill !" 

Horsfs  make  another  struggle  to  get  up  the 
bank,  and  again  the  coach  rolls  backward. 

Black  Dbitbk  (louder  than  before).  "  Pe-e-e- 
iU!" 

Horses  make  a  desperate  struggle. 

Bla<  k  Privkb  (recovering  spirits).  "  Hi,  Jid- 
dy. Jid  ly.  PiU  !" 

Homes  make  another  effort. 

Blajk  Dbivbb  (with  great  vigour).   "Ally 
.rfMi!  Hi.    Jiddy,  Jiddy.    PiU.    Ally  Loo!" 

Hoi  ses  almost  do  it. 

Bl/ok  Dbivbb  (with  his  eyes  starting  out  of 
his  head).  "  Lee,  den.  Lee,  dere.  Hi.  Jiddy, 
Jiddy      Pill.    Ally  Loo.     Lee-e-e-e-e !" 

They  run  up  the  bank,  and  go  down  again  on 
the  other  side  at  a  fearful  pace.  It  is  impossi- 
ble to  stop  them,  and  at  the  bottom  there  is  a 
deep  hollow  full  of  water.  The  coach  rolls 
frightfully.  The  insides  scream.  The  mud  and 
water  fly  about  us.  The  black  driver  dances 
like  a  madman.  Suddenly  we  are  all  right  by 
aome  extraordinary  means,  and  stop  to  breathe. 

A  black  friend  of  the  black  driver  is  sitting  on 
a  fence.  The  black  driver  recognises  hiiu  by 
twirling  his  head  found  and  round  like  a  harle- 
quin, rolling  his  eyes,  shrugging  his  shoulders, 
and  grinning  from  ear  to  ear.  He  stops  short, 
turns  to  me,  and  says, 

"  We  shall  get  you  through,  sa,  like  a  fiddle, 
and  hope  a  please  you  when  we  get  you  through, 
sa.  Old  'ooiuan  at  home,  sir ;"  chuckling  very 
much.  "Outside  gentleman,  sa,  he  often  re- 
member old  'ooinan  at  home,  sa,"  grinning  again. 

"  Ay,  ay,  we'll  take  care  of  the  old  woman. 
Don't  be  atraid." 

The  black  driver  grins  again,  but  there  is  an- 
other hole,  and,  beyond  that,  another  bank  close 
before  us.  So  he  stops  short ;  cries  (to  the 
horses  again)  "Easy.  Easy,  den.  Ease.  Steady. 
Hi.  Jidiiy.  Pill.  Ally.  Loo."  but  never  "Lee!" 


until  w«  are  reduced  to  the  very  last  extremity, 
and  are  in  the  midst  ol  difficulties,  extncatioa 
from  which  appears  to  be  all  but  impoMiihle. 

And  so  we  do  the  ten  milea  or  thereabout  in 
two  hours  and  _  half;  breaking  no  bonea.  though 
bruising  a  great  many  ;  and,  in  abort,  getting 
through  the  distance  "  like  a  iiddle." 

Thu.  singular  kind  of  coaching  terminate*  at 
Fredericksburgh,  whence  there  ia  a  railway  to 
Kichmond.  The  tract  of  country  through  which 
it  takes  its  course  was  once  productive ;  but  the 
soil  has  been  exhauated  by  the  system  of  em- 
ploying a  great  amount  of  slave  labour  in  forcing 
crops  without  strengthening  the  land,  and  it  is 
now  little  better  than  a  aandy  desert  overgrown 
with  trees.  Dreary  and  uninteresting  as  its  as> 
pect  is,  I  was  glad  to  the  heart  to  find  anything 
on  which  one  of  the  curses  of  this  horrible  in- 
stitution has  fallen,  and  had  greater  pleasure  in 
contemplating  the  withered  ground  than  the 
richest  and  most  thriving  cultivation  in  the 
same  place  could  possibly  have  aflTorded  me. 

In  this  district,  as  in  aJl  others  where  slaveiy 
sits  brooding  (I  have  frequently  heard  this  a«i- 
mitted,  even  by  those  who  are  its  warmeai 
advocates),  there  is  an  air  of  ruin  and  decay 
abroad  which  is  inseparable  from  the  system. 
The  bams  and  outhouses  are  mouldering  away ; 
the  sheds  are  patched,  and  half  roofless ;  the  log 
cabins  (built  in  Virginia  with  external  chimneys 
made  of  clay  or  wood)  are  squalid  in  the  laat 
degree.  There  is  no  look  of  decent  comlbn 
anywhere.  The  miserable  stations  by  tlie  rail- 
way side;  the  great  wild  woodyards,  whence 
the  engine  is  supplied  with  fuel ;  the  negro  chil- 
dren rolling  on  the  ground  before  the  cabin 
doors,  with  dogs  and  pigs ;  the  biped  beasts  of 
burden  slinking  past ;  gloom  and  dejection  are 
upon  them  all. 

In  the  negro-car  belonging  to  the  train  in 
which  we  made  this  journey  were  a  mother  and 
her  children,  who  had  just  been  purchased,  the 
husband  and  father  being  left  behind  with  their 
old  owner.  The  children  cried  the  whole  way, 
and  the  mother  was  misery's  |iicture.  The 
champion  of  Life,  Liberty,  and  the  Pursuit  of 
Happiness,  who  had  bought  them,  rode  in  the 
same  train,  and  every  tune  we  stopped  got 
down  to  see  that  they  were  safe.  The  black  in 
Siiibdd's  Travels,  with  one  eye  in  the  middle  of 
his  forehead,  which  shone  like  a  burning  coal, 
was  nature's  aristocrat  compared  with  this 
white  gentleman. 

It  was  between  six  and  seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening  when  we  drove  to  the  hotel,  in  front  of 
which,  and  on  the  top  of  the  broad  flight  of  steps 
lt;ading  to  the  door,  two  or  three  citizens  were 
bulanciiig  themselves  on  rocking-chairs,  and 
6ruukiiig  cigars.  We  found  it  a  very  large  and 
elegant  establishment,  and  were  as  well  cuter- 
taiiivd  as  travellers  need  desire  to  be.  The  cli- 
mate being  a  thirsty  one,  there  was  never,  at 
any  hour  of  the  day,  a  scarcity  of  loungers  in 
the  spacious  bar,  or  a  cessation  of  the  uii.kiu^  of 
cool  liquors ;  but  they  were  a  merrier  |)e(i|ile 
here,  and  had  musical  inslrutiients  playing  to 
them  o'  nights,  whicli  it  was  a  treat  to  hear  again. 

The  next  day,  and  the  ii<;xt.  we  rode  ami 
walked  about  the  town,  which  is  delightfully 
situated  on  eight  hills  overhanging  James  K,iver, 
a  sparkling  stream,  studded  heie  and  there  with 
bright  islands,  or  brawliug  over  broKeu  rocks. 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


Altboagh  it  was  yet  but  the  middle  of  Marcli, 
the  weatlier  in  this  southern  temperature  was 
•xtremely  warm  ;  the  peach-trees  and  magne- 
fias  were  in  full  bloom,  and  the  trees  were  green. 
la  a  low  ground  among  the  hills  is  a  valley 
known  as  "  Bloody  Run,"  from  a  terrible  con- 
flict with  the  Indians  which  once  occurred  there. 
It  is  a  good  place  for  such  a  struggle,  and,  like 
•very  other  spot  I  saw  associated  with  any  le- 
gend of  that  wild  people  now  so  rapidly  fading 
imm  the  earth,  interested  me  very  much. 

The  city  is  the  seat  of  the  local  parliament 
of  Virginia ;  and  in  its  shady  legislative  halls 
•ome  orators  were  drowsily  holding  forth  to  the 
kot  noonday.  By  dint  of  constant  repetition, 
Iwwever,  these  constitutional  sights  had  very 
little  more  interest  for  me  than  so  many  parochi- 
tA  vestries ;  and  I  was  glad  to  exchange  this  one 
for  a  lounge  in  a  well-arranged  public  library  of 
■oate  ten  thousand  volumes,  and  a  visit  to  a  to- 
bacco manufactory,  where  the  workmen  were 
all  slaves. 

I  saw  in  this  place  the  whole  process  of  pick- 
iog,  rolling,  pressing,  drying,  packing  iii  casks, 
and  branding.  All  the  tobacco  thus  dealt  with 
was  in  course  of  manufacture  for  chewing ;  and 
me  would  have  supposed  there  was  enough  in 
that  one  storehouse  to  have  filled  even  the  com- 
prehensive jaws  of  America.  In  this  form,  the 
weed  looks  like  the  oilcake  on  which  we  fatten 
cattle,  and,  even  without  reference  to  its  conse- 
fuences,  is  sutiiciently  uninviting. 

Many  of  the  workmen  appeared  to  be  strong 
Ben,  ana  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  they 
were  all  labouring  quietly  then.  After  two 
•'dock  in  the  day,  they  are  allowed  to  siiig,  a 
certain  number  at  a  time.  The  hour  striking 
while  I  was  there,  some  twenty  sang  a  hymn  in 
parts,  and  sang  it  by  no  means  ill ;  pursuing 
their  work  meanwhile.  A  bell  rang  as  I  was 
about  to  leave,  and  they  all  poured  Ibrth  into  a 
kuilding  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  to 
dinner.  I  said  several  times  that  I  should  like 
to  see  them  at  their  meal ;  but  as  the  gentle- 
man to  whom  I  mentioned  this  desire  appeared 
to  be  suddenly  taken  rather  aeaf,  I  did  not  pur- 
■ue  the  request.  Of  their  appearance  I  diall 
have  something  to  say  presently. 

On  the  following  day,  I  visited  a  plantation  or 
ium,  of  about  twelve  hundred  acres,  on  the  op- 

rwlte  bank  of  the  river.  Here  again,  although 
went  down  with  the  owner  of  the  estate  to 
*'the  quarter,"  as  that  part  of  it  in  which  the 
alaves  live  is  called,  I  was  not  invited  to  enter 
intoany  of  their  huts.  All  I  saw  of  them  was  that 
they  were  crazy,  wretched  cabins,  near  to  which 
groups  of  half-naked  children  basked  in  the  sun, 
or  wallowed  on  the  dusty  ground.  But  I  believe 
that  this  gentleman  is  a  considerate  and  excel- 
lent master,  who  inherited  his  fitty  slaves,  and 
is  neither  a  buyer  nor  a  seller  of  human  stock; 
and  I  am  sure,  from  my  own  observation  and 
eonvictiun,  that  he  is  a  kind-hearted,  worthy 
man. 

The  planter's  house  was  an  airy  rustic  dwell- 
ing, that  biuiiglit  Defoe's  description  of  such 
places  striiii^'iy  to  my  recolltKition.  The  day 
was  very  wanii,  but  ih«  bluidb  being  all  closed, 
and  the  windows  and  doois  set  wide  open,  a 
sliiidy  coiijiit'sei  ru«)il<ul  tlimugh  the  rooms,  which 
wau  (.'\(|uisiieiy  refiosliiiig  ulttr  the  glare  ami 
heat  wiihuut.     Bbiure  the  windows  was  an 


open  piazza,  wh^re,  in  what  ^h'ey  call  tho  hot 
weather— r whatever  that  m'ay  be— ^they  sling 
hammocks,  and  drink  and  dos^  luxuriously.  I 
do  not  know  how  the'ii;  couj  refections  may  taste 
within  the  hammocks,  but^. having  experience,  I 
can  report  that,  out  of  tliem,  the  mounds  of  ices 
and  the  bowls  of  inint-jniep  and  sherry-cobbler 
they  make  in  these  latitudes,  are  refreshments 
never  to  be  thought  of  afterward  in  summer,  by 
those  who  wouid  preseifve  contented  minds. 

There  are  two  bridges  across  the  river  :  one 
belongs  to  the  railroad,  and  the  other,  which  is  a 
very  crazy  affair,  is  the  private  property  of  some 
old  lady  in  the  neighbourhood,  who  levies  toU» 
upon  the  town's  people.  Crossing  this  bridge, 
on  my  way  back,  I  saw  a  notice  painted  on  the 

Sate,  cautioning  all  p<^r8ons  to  drive  slowly,  un- 
er  a  penalty,  if  the  offender  were  a  white  man, 
of  five  dollars ;  if  a  negro,  fifteen  stripes 

The  same  decay  and  gloom  that  overhang  the 
way  by  which  it  is  approached,  hover  above  the 
town  of  Richmond.  There  are  pretty  villas  and 
cheerful  houses  in  its  streets,  and  Nature  smiles 
upon  the  country  round  ;  but  jostling  its  hand- 
some residences,  like  slavery  itself  going  hand 
in  hand  with  many  lofty  virtues,  are  deplorable 
tenements,  fences  unrepaired,  walls  crumbling 
into  ruinous  heaps.  Hinting  gloomily  at  things 
below  the  surface,  these  and  many  other  tokens 
of  the  same  description  force  themselves  upon 
the  notice,  and  are  remembered  with  depressing 
influence,  when  livelier  features  are  forgotten. 

To  those  who  are  happily  unaccustomed  to 
them,  the  countenances  in  the  streets  and  la- 
bouring- places,  too,  are  shocking.  All  men  who 
know  that  there  are  laws  against  instructing 
slaves,  of  which  the  pains  and  penalties  greatly 
exceed  in  amount  the  fines  imposed  on  those 
who  maim  and  torture  them,  must  be  prepared 
to  find  their  faces  very  low  in  the  scale  of  intel- 
lectual expression.  But  the  darkness — not  of 
skin,  but  mind — which  meets  the  stranger's  eye 
at  every  turn ;  the  brutalizing  and  blotting  out  of 
all  the  fairer  characters  traced  by  Nature's 
hand ;  immeasurably  outdo  his  worst  belief. 
That  travelled  creation  of  the  great  satirist's 
brain,  who,  fresh  from  living  among  horses, 
peereid  from  a  high  casement  down  upon  his 
own  kind  with  trembling  horror,  was  scarcely 
more  repelled  and  daunted  by  the  sight,  than 
those  who  look  upon  some  of  these  faces  for  the 
first  time  must  surely  be. 

I  left  the  last  of  them  behind  me  in  the  per> 
son  of  a  wretphed  drudge,  who,  after  running  to 
and  fro  all  day  till  midnight,  and  moping  in  his 
stealthy  winks  of  sleep  upon  the  stairs  be- 
tween whiles,  was  washing  tdedark  passages  at 
four  o'clock  in  the  morning ;  and  went  upon 
my  way  with  a  grateful  heart  that  I  was  not 
doomed  to  live  where  slavery  was,  and  had 
never  had  my  senses  blunted  to  its  wrongs  and 
horrors  in  a  slave-rocked  cradle. 

It  had  been  my  intention  to  proceed  by  James 
River  and  Chesapeake  Bay  to  Baltimore ;  but 
one  of  the  steamboats  being  absent  from  her 
station  through  some  accident,  and  the  means 
of  conveyance  consequently  rendered  uncertain, 
we  returned  to  Washington  by  the  way  we  had 
come  (there  were  two  constables  on  hoard  the 
steamboat,  in  pursuit  of  runaway  slaves),  and, 
halting  there  again  for  one  night,  went  on  to  Bal 
tiinore  next  afternoon. 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


II  the  hot 
Ihey  slinff 
jiuusly.    I 
[may  taste 
lerienoe,  I 
ids  of  ices 
|ry-e«bbler 
'eshments 
imrner,  by 
linds. 
iver:  one 
Iwhich  is  a 
;y  of  some 
vies  tolls 
lis  bridge, 
'ed  on  the 
[lowly,  un- 
hite  man, 
ipes 

irhang  the 
above  tiie 
villas  and 
ure  smiles 
I  its  hand- 
oing  hand 
deplorable 
crumbling 
r  at  things 
her  tokens 
ilves  upon 
depressing 
orgotten. 
istomed  to 
Its  and  la< 
It  men  who 
[instructing 
ties  greatly 
i  on  those 
e  prepared 
tie  of  Intel- 
ss— not  of 
mger's  eye 
;ting  out  of 
r  Nature's 
irst  belief, 
t  satirist's 
i)g  horses, 
upon  hie 
8  scarcely 
light,  than 
oes  for  the 

in  the  per* 
running  to 
ing  in  his 
stairs  be> 
issages  at 
'ent  upon 
was  not 
and  had 
-ongs  and 

by  James 
lore;  but 
from  her 
le  means 
ncertain, 
y  we  had 
)oard  the 
es;,  and, 
n  to  Bal 


The  most  comfortable  of  all  the  hotels  of 
which  I  had  any  experience  in  the  United  States, 
and  they  were  not  a  few,  is  Barnum's  in  that 
city :  where  the  English  traveller  will  find  cur- 
tains to  his  bed,  for  the  first  and  probably  the 
last  time,  in  America ;  and  where  he  will  be 
likely  to  have  enough  water  for  washing  him- 
self, which  is  not  at  all  a  common  case." 

This  capital  of  the  state  of  Maryland  is  a 
bustling,  busy  town,  with  a  great  deal  of  traffic 
of  various  kinds,  and  in  particular  of  water  com- 
merce. That  portion  of  the  town  which  it  most 
favours  is  none  of  the  cleanest,  it  is  true;  but 
the  upper  part  is  of  a  very  different  character, 
and  has  many  agreeable  streets  and  public 
buildings.  The  'V^^hington  Monument,  which 
is  a  handsome  pillar  with  a  statue  on  its  sum- 
mit ;  the  Medical  College ;  and  the  Battle  Mon- 
ument in  memor>  of  an  engagement  with  the 
British  at  North  Point ;  are  the  most  conspicu- 
ous among  them. 

There  is  a  very  good  prison  in  this  city,  and 
the  state  Pp<  *entiary  is  also  among  its  institu- 
tions. In  t  latter  esublishment  there  were 
two  curious      es. 

One,  was  t  of  a  young  man  who  had  been 
tried  for  the  -arder  of  his  father.  The  evidence 
was  entirely  circumstantial,  and  was  very  con- 
flicting and  ooubtful ;  nor  was  it  possible  to  as- 
sign any  motive  which  could  have  tempted  hun 
to  the  commission  of  so  tremendous  a  crime. 
He  had  been  tried  twice;  and  on  the  second 
occasion  the  jury  felt  so  much  hesitation  in  con- 
victing him,  that  they  found  a  verdict  of  man- 
slaughter, or  murder  in  the  second  degree; 
which  it  could  not  possibly  be,  as  there  had,  be- 
yond all  doubt,  been  no  quarrel  or  provocation, 
and  if  he  were  guilty  at  all,  he  was  unquestion- 
ably guilty  of  murder  in  its  broadest  and  worst 
signification. 

The  remarkable  feature  in  the  case  was,  that 
if  the  unfortunate  deceased  were  not  really  mur- 
dered by  this  own  son  of  his,  he  must  have 
been  murdered  by  his  own  brother.  The  evi- 
dence lay,  in  a  most  remarkable  manner,  be- 
tween those  two.  On  all  the  suspicious  points, 
the  dead  bien's  brother  was  the  witness ;  all  the 
explanations  for  the  prisoner  (some  of  them  ex- 
tremely plausible)  went,  by  construction  and 
inference,  to  implicate  him  as  plotting  to  fix  the 
guilt  upon  his  nephew.  It  must  have  been  one 
of  them :  and  the  jury  had  to  decide  between 
two  sets  of  suspicions,  almost  equally  unnatural, 
unaccountable,  and  strange. 

The  other  case,  was  that  of  a  man  who  once 
went  to  a  certain  distiller's  and  stole  a  copper 
measure  containing  a  quantity  of  liquor.  He 
was  pursued  and  taken  with  the  property  in  his 
possession,  and  was  sentenced  to  two  years'  im- 
prisonment. On  coming  out  of  the  jail,  at  the 
expiration  of  that  term,  he  went  back  to  the 
same  distiller's,  and  stole  the  same  copper 
measure  containing  the  same  quantity  of  liquor. 
There  was  not  the  slightest  reason  to  sup- 
pose that  the  man  wished  to  return  to  pris- 
on :  indeed,  everything,  but  the  commission  of 
the  ofTence,  made  directly  against  that  assump- 
tion. There  are  only  two  ways  of  account- 
ing for  this  extraordinary  proceeding.  One 
is,  that,  alter  undergoing  so  much  for  this  cop- 
per measure,  he  conceived ,  he  had  established 
a  sort  of  claim  and  right  to  it.    The  other 


that,  by  dint  of  long  thinking  about  it,  it  had  be- 
come a  monomania  with  him,  and  had  acquirefl 
a  fascination  which  he  found  it  impossible  ta 
resist :  swelling  from  an  Earthly  Copper  Galkw 
into  an  Ethereal  Golden  Vat. 

Afler  remaining  here  a  couple  of  days  I  bound 
myself  to  a  rigid  adherence  to  the  plan  I  had 
laid  down  so  recently,  and  resolved  to  set  for- 
ward on  our  western  journey  without  any  mora 
delay.  Accordingly,  having  reduced  the  lug- 
gage within  the  smallest  possible  compass  (by 
sending  back  to  New- York,  to  be  afterward  for- 
warded to  us  in  Canada,  so  much  of  it  as  was  not 
absolutely  wanted) ;  and  having  procured  tkm 
necessary  credentials  to  banking-houses  on  the 
way;  and  having,  moreover,  looked  for  tw» 
evenings  at  the  setting  sun,  with  as  weU-defined 
an  idea  of  the  country  before  us  as  if  we  had 
been  going  to  travel  to  the  very  oontre  of  that 
planet ;  we  left  Baltimore  by  another  raUway  aC 
half  past  eight  in  the  morning,  and  reached  the 
town  of  York,  some  sixty  miles  off,  b '  the  earlj 
dinner-time  of  the  hotel,  which  was  .he  stait- 
ing-place  of  the  four-horse  coach  wherein  we 
were  to  proceed  to  Harrisburgh. 

This  conveyance,  the  box  of  which  I  was  for- 
tunate enough  to  secure,  had  come  down  te 
meet  us  at  the  railroad  station,  and  was  a* 
muddy  and  cumbersome  as  usual.  As  more 
passengers  were  waiting  for  us  at  the  inn  dooi; 
the  coachman  observed  under  his  breath,  in  the 
usual  self-communicative  voice,  looking  the 
while  at  his  mouldy  harness  as  if  it  were  te 
that  he  was  addressing  himself, 

"  I  expect  we  shall  want  the  big  coach." 

I  could  not  help  wondering  within  myself 
what  the  i?ize  of  this  big  coach  might  be,  and 
how  many  persons  it  might  be  designed  to  hold, 
for  the  vehicle  which  was  too  small  for  our  pur- 
pose was  something  larger  than  two  EngUsk 
heavy  night  coaches.  My  speculations  were 
speedily  set  at  rest,  however,  for  as  soon  as  we 
had  dined  there  came  rumbling  up  the  street 
shaking  its  sides  like  a  corpulent  giant,  a  kind 
of  barge  on  wheels.  After  much  blundering 
and  backing,  it  stopped  at  the  door,  rolling  he»> 
vily  from  side  to  side  when  its  other  motion  had 
ceased,  as  if  it  had  taken  cold  in  its  damp  ate* 
ble,  and  between  that  and  the  having  beea 
required  in  its  dropsical  old  age  to  move  at  anj 
faster  pace  than  a  walk,  were  distressed  4^ 
shortness  of  wind. 

"  If  here  ain't  the  Harrisburgh  mail  at  laat^ 
and  dreadful  bright  and  smart  to  look  at  too,^ 
cried  an  elderly  gentleman,  in  some  eotcitemenl^ 
"  darn  my  mother !" 

I  don't  know  what  the  sensation  of  beiqg 
darned  may  be,  or  whether  a  roan's  mother  !»■ 
a  keener  relish  or  disrelish  of  the  process  tham 
anybody  else ;  but  if  the  endurance  of  this  mys- 
terious ceremony  by  the  old  lady  in  questioa 
had  depended  on  the  accuracy  of  her  son'a 
vision  in  respect  to  the  abstract  brightness  and 
smartness  of  the  Harrisburgh  mail,  she  would 
certainly  have  undergone  its  infliction.  How- 
ever, they  packed  twelve  p«opIe  inside,  and  the 
luggage  (including  such  trifles  as  a  large  rock- 
ing-horse and  a  good  sized  dining-table)  beiM 
at  last  made  fast  upon  the  roof,  we  started  off 
in  great  state. 

At  the  door  of  another  hotel  there  wai  a» 
other  passenger  to  be  taken  up. 


M 


NOTES  ON   AMERICA. 


"Any  room,  sirl"  cries  the  new  passenger 
to  the  coachman. 

"Well,  there's  room  enough,"  replies  the 
coat  hman,  without  getting  down,  or  even  look- 
ing at  him. 

"  There  an't  no  room  at  all,  sir,"  bawls  a 
gentleman  inside.  Which  another  gentleman 
(also  inside)  confirms,  by  predicting  that  the  at- 
tempt to  introduce  any  more  passengers  "  won't 
fit  nohow." 

Tlie  new  passenger,  without  any  expression 
of  anxiety,  looks  into  the  coach,  and  then  looks 
■p  at  the  coachman  :  "  Now,  how  do  you  mean 
to  (ix  it  1"  says  he,  after  a  pause, "  for  I  must  go." 

The  coachman  employs  himself  in  twisting 
the  lash  of  the  whip  into  a  knot,  and  takes  no 
more  notice  of  the  question,  clearly  signify- 
ing that  it  is  anybody's  business  but  his,  and 
that  the  passengers  would  do  well  to  fix  it 
among  themselves.  In  this  state  of  things, 
matters  seem  to  be  approximating  to  a  fix  of 
another  kind,  when  another  inside  passenger  in 
a  corner,  who  is  nearly  suffocated,  cries  faintly, 

"  I'll  get  out." 

This  is  no  matter  of  relief  or  self-congratula- 
tion to  the  driver,  for  his  immovable  philosophy 
is  perfectly  undisturbed  by  anything  that  hap- 
pens in  the  Cviach.  Of  all  things  in  the  world, 
the  coach  would  seem  to  be  the  very  last  upon 
bis  mind.  The  exchange  is  made,  however, 
and  then  the  passenger  who  has  given  up  his 
•eat  makes  a  third  upon  the  box,  seating  him- 
self in  what  he  calls  the  middle ;  that  is,  with 
half  his  person  on  my  legs  and  the  other  half 
on  the  driver's. 

"  Qo  ahead,  cap'en,"  cries  the  colonel,  who 
Erects. 

*'  G5  lang !"  cries  the  cap'en  to  his  company, 
the  horses,  and  away  we  go. 

We  took  up  at  a  rural  bar-room,  after  we  had 
gone  a  few  miles,  an  intoxicated  gentleman, 
who  climbed  upon  the  roof  among  the  luggage, 
aad,  subsequently  slipping  off*  without  hurting 
Umself,  was  seen  in  the  distant  perspective 
reeling  back  to  the  grogshop  where  we  had 
found  him.  We  aisci  parted  with  more  of  our 
fleight  at  different  ti^nes,  so  that,  when  we  came 
to  change  horses,  I  was  again  alone  outside. 

The  coachmen  always  change  with  the  hor- 
ses, and  are  usually  as  dirty  as  the  coach.  The 
fist  was  dressed  like  a  very  shabby  English 
baker ;  the  second  like  a  Russian  peasant,  for 
be  wore  a  loose  purple  camlet  robe  with  a  ftir 
collar,  tied  round  his  waist  with  a  party-colour- 
ed worsted  sash  ;  gray  trousers,  light  blue 
gloves,  and  a  cap  of  bearskin.  It  had  by  this 
time  come  on  to  rain  very  heavily,  and  there  was 
a  eold  damp  mist  besides,  which  penetrated  to 
the  ritin.  I  was  very  glad  to  take  advantage  of 
a  stoppage  and  get  down  to  stretch  my  legs, 
I  shake  the  water  off  my  greatcoat,  t^nd  swallow 
the  usual  anti-temperance  recipe  for  keeping 
•ut  the  cold. 

When  I  mounted  to  my  seat  again,  I  observed 
la  new  parcel  lying  on  the  coach  roof,  which  I 
I  took  to  be  a  rather  large  fiddle  in  a  brown  bag. 
I  In  the  course  of  a  few  miles,  however,  I  dis- 
I  covered  that  it  had  a  glazed  cap  at  one  end  and 
I  a  pair  of  muddy  shoes  at  the  other ;  and  farther 
I  observation  demonstrated  it  tr>  be  a  small  boy 
|in  a  snuff-coloured  coat,  with  his  arms  quite  pin- 
riened  to  his  sides  by  deep  forcing  into  his  pock- 


ets. He  was,  I  presume,  a  relative  or  friend 
of  the  coachman's,  as  he  lay  a-top  of  the  lug- 
gage with  his  face  towards  the  rain ;  and,  ex- 
cept when  a  changs  of  position  brought  his 
shoes  in  contact  with  my  hat,  he  appeared  to  be 
asleep.  At  last,  on  some  occasion  of  our  slop- 
ping, this  thing  slowly  upreared  iuelf  to  the 
height  of  three  feet  six,  and,  fixing  its  eyes  on 
me,  observed,  in  piping  accents,  with  a  compla- 
cent yawn  half  quenched  in  an  obliging  air  of 
friendly  patronage,  "  Well  now,  stranger,  I 
guess  you  find  this  a'most  like  an  English  arter- 
n<ion,  hey  1" 

I'he  scenery,  which  had  been  tame  enough  at 
first,  was,  for  the  last  ten  or  twelve  miles,  beau- 
tiful. Our  road  wound  through  the  pleasant 
valley  of  the  Susquehanna;  the  river,  dotted 
with  innumerable  green  islands,  lay  upon  our 
right ;  and  on  the  left,  a  steep  ascent,  craggy 
with  broken  rock,  and  dark  with  pine  trees. 
The  mist,  wreathing  itself  into  a  hundred  fan- 
tastic shapes,  moved  solemnly  upon  the  water ; 
and  the  gloom  of  evening  gave  to  all  an  air  of 
mystery  and  silence  which  greatly  enhaoced  ita 
natural  interest. 

We  crossed  this  river  by  a  wooden  bridge, 
roofed  and  covered  in  on  all  sides,  and  nearly 
a  mile  in  length.  It  was  profoundly  dark ;  per- 
plexed, with  great  beams,  crossing  and  recross- 
ing  it  at  every  possible  angle ;  and  through  the 
broad  chinks  and  crevices  in  the  fl«K>r,  the  rapid 
river  gleamed,  far  down  below,  like  a  legion  of 
eyes.  We  had  no  lamps;  and  as  the  horses 
stumbled  and  floundered  through  this  place,  to- 
wards the  distant  speck  of  dying  light,  it  seemed 
interminable.  I  really  could  not  at  first  per- 
suade myself,  as  we  rumbled  heavily  on,  filling 
the  bridge  with  the  hollow  noises,  and  I  held 
down  my  head  to  save  it  from  the  rafters  above 
but  that  I  was  in  a  painful  dream ;  for  I  have 
oftea  dreamed  of  toiling  through  such  places, 
and  as  often  argued,  even  at  the  time,  "  this  can- 
not be  reality." 

At  length,  however,  we  emerged  upon  the 
streets  of  Hanisburgh,  whose  feeble  lights,  re- 
fleeted  dismally  ft-om  the  wet  ground,  did  not 
shine  out  apon  a  very  cheerful  city.  We  were 
soon  established  in  a  snug  hotel,  which,  though 
smaller  and  far  less  splendid  than  many  we  put 
up  at,  is  raised  above  them  all  in  my  remem- 
brance, by  having  for  its  landlord  the  most  obli- 
ging, considerate,  and  gentlemanly  person  I  ever 
had  to  deal  with. 

As  we  were  not  to  proceed  upon  our  journey 
until  the  afternoon,  I  walked  out,  after  breakfast 
the  next  morning,  to  look  about  me  ;  and  was 
duly  shown  a  m^el  prison  on  the  solitary  sys- 
tem, just  erected,  and  as  yet  withou;  an  inmate; 
the  trunk  of  an  aid  tree  to  which  Harris,  the  first 
settler  here  (afterward  buried  under  it)  was  tied 
by  hostile  Indians,  with  his  funeral  pile  about 
him,  when  he  was  saved  by  the  timely  appear- 
ance of  a  friendly  party  on  the  opposite  shore 
of  the  river ;  the  local  legislature  (for  there  was 
another  of  those  bodies  here,  again,  in  full  de- 
bate) ;  and  the  other  curiosities  of  the  town. 

I  was  very  much  interested  in  looking  ovei  a 
number  of  treaties  made  from  time  to  time  with 
the  poor  Indians,  signed  by  the  different  chiefs 
at  the  period  of  their  ratification,  and  preserved 
in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  to  the  Conmion- 
wealth.    These  signatures,  traced  of  course  by 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


friend 
the  lug- 
»nd,  ex- 
gbt  his 
ed  to  be 
ur  Slop- 
to  the 
eyes  on 
coiiipla- 
air  of 
nger,  I 
til  arter- 


fheir  own  hands,  are  rough  drawings  of  the 
creatures  or  weapons  they  were  called  after. 
Thus,  the  Great  Turtle  makes  a  crooked  pen- 
and-ink  outline  of  a  great  turtle ;  the  Buflalo 
sketches  a  buffalo;  the  War  Hatchet  sets  a 
rough  image  of  that  weapon  for  his  mark.  So 
'  with  the  Arrow,  the  Fish,  the  Scalp,  the  Big  Ca- 
noe, and  all  of  them. 

1  could  not  but  think — as  I  looked  at  these 
feeble  and  tremulous  productions  of  hands  which 
could  draw  the  longest  arrow  to  the  head  in  a 
stout  elkhorn  bow,  or  split  a  head  or  feather  with 
a  rifle-ball — of  Crabbe's  musings  over  the  Parish 
Register,  and  the  irregular  scratches  made  with 
a  pen,  by  men  who  would  plough  a  lengthy  fur- 
row straight  from  end  to  end.  Nor  could  I  help 
bestowing  many  sorrowful  thoughts  upon  the 
simple  warriors  whose  hands  and  hearts  were 
set  there,  in  all  truth  and  honesty  ;  and  who  only 
learnt  in  the  coarse  of  time  from  white  men  how 
to  break  their  faith,  and  quibble  out  of  forms  and 
bonds.  I  wondered,  too,  how  many  times  the 
credulous  Big  Turtle,  or  trusting  Little  Hatchet, 
had  put  his  mark  to  treaties  which  were  falsely 
read  to  him ;  and  had  signed  away,  be  knew 
not  what,  until  it  went  and  cast  him  loose  upon 
the  new  possessors  of  the  land,  a  savage  indeed. 
Our  host  announced,  before  our  early  dinner, 
that  some  members  of  the  legislative  body  pro- 

E)sed  to  do  us  the  honour  of  calling.  He  had 
ndly  yielded  up  to  us  his  wife's  own  little  par- 
lour, and  when  I  begged  that  he  would  show 
them  in,  I  saw  him  look  with  painful  apprehen- 
sion at  its  pretty  carpet ;  though,  being  other- 
wise occupied  at  the  time,  the  cause  of  his  un- 
easiness did  not  occur  to  wi. 

It  certainly  would  have  bt  en  •  "c  pleasant  to 
all  parties  concerned,  and  w<  i'-,  I  think, 
have  compromised  their  indi  oi^  %«  in  any 
material  degree,  if  some  of  thea«  ijeiitlemen  had 
not  only  yielded  to  the  prejudice  in  favour  of 
spittoons,  but  had  abandoned  themselves,  for  the 
moment,  even  to  the  conventional  absurdity  of 
;  pocket-handkerchiefs. 

It  still  continued  to  rain  heavily,  and  when  we 
went  down  to  the  Canal  Boat  (for  that  was  the 
mode  of  conveyance  by  which  we  were  to  pro- 
ceed) after  dinner,  the  weather  was  as  unprom- 
ising and  obstinately  wet  as  one  would  desire  to 
see.  Nor  was  the  sight  of  this  canal  boat,  in 
which  we  were  to  spend  three  or  four  days,  by 
any  means  a  cheerful  one ;  as  it  involved  some 
uneasy  speculations  concerning  the  disposal  of 
the  passengers  at  night,  and  opened  a  wide  field 
of  inquiry  touching  the  other  domestic  arrange- 
ments of  the  establishment,  which  was  suffi- 
ciently disconcerting. 

However,  there  it  was — a  barge  with  a  little 
House  in  it,  viewed  from  the  outside ;  and  a  car- 
avan at  a  fair,  viewed 'from  within :  the  gentle- 
men being  accommodated,  as  the  spectators  usu- 
ally are,  in  one  of  those  locomotive  lauseums  of 
penny  wonders ;  and  the  ladies  being  partitioned 
ofi*  by  a  red  curtain,  after  the  manner  of  the 
dwarfs  and  ^isrts  in  the  same  establishments, 
whose  private  Uvea  are  passed  in  rather  close 
exolusiveness. 

We  sat  here,  lookmg  silently  at  the  row  of 
little  tables,  which  extended  down  both  sides  of 
the  cabin,  and  listened  to  the  rain  as  it  dripped 
and  pattered  on  the  boat,  and  plashed  with  a 
4lisroal  merriment  in  the  water,  until  the  arrival 


of  the  railway  train,  for  whose  final  contribution 
to  our  stock  of  passengers,  our  departure  was 
alone  deferred.  It  brought  a  great  many  boxes, 
which  were  bumped  and  tossed  upon  the  roof, 
almost  as  painfully  as  if  they  had  been  deposited 
on  one's  own  head,  without  the  intervention  of 
a  porter's  knot ;  and  several  damp  gem  lemen, 
wbese  clothes,  on  their  drawing  round  the  stove, 
began  to  steam  again.  No  doubt  it  would  have 
been  a  thought  more  comfortable  if  the  driving 
rain,  which  now  poured  down  more  soakingly 
than  ever,  had  admitted  of  a  window  being  «i|>eu- 
ed,  or  if  our  number  had  been  sonielhmg  le^s 
than  thirty ;  but  there  was  scarcely  time  tu 
think  as  much,  when  a  train  of  three  horses 
was  attached  tu  the  tow-rope,  the  boy  up<m  tlie 
leader  smacked  his  whip,  the  rudder  creaked 
and  groaned  complainingly,  and  we  had  begun 
our  journey. 


CHAPTER  X. 

SOME  FARTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  OANAL-BOAT,  ITS 
DOHEBTIO  ECONOMY,  AND  ITS  PABSENOBHS.^ 
JOURNEY  TO  PITT8BUKO  ACROSS  THE  ALLEOUANT 
MOUNTAINS. — PITTSBURO. 

As  it  continued  to  rain  most  perseveringly, 
we  all  remained  below:  the  damp  gentlemen 
round  the  stove,  gradually  becoming  mildewed 
by  the  action  of  the  fire ;  and  the  dry  gentle- 
men lying  at  full  length  upon  the  seats,  or 
slumbering  uneasily  with  their  faces  on  the 
tables,  or  walking  up  and  down  the  cabin, 
which  it  was  barely  {Mssible  for  a  man  of  the 
middle  height  to  do,  without  making  bald  places 
on  his  head  by  scraping  it  against  the  roof.  At 
about  six  o'clock,  M  the  bumU  tables  were  put 
together  to  form  one  long  table,  and  everybody 
sat  down  to  tea,  coSee,  bread,  butter,  salmoo, 
shad,  liver,  steak,  potatoes,  pickles,  ham,  chops, 
black  puddings,  and  sausages. 

"  Will  you  try,"  said  my  opposite  neighbour, 
handing  me  a  dish  of  potatoes,  broken  ap  itt 
milk  and  butter,  "  will  you  try  some  of  these 
fixing  1" 

There  are  few  words  which  perform  snch  va* 
rious  duties  as  this  word  "  fix."  It  is  the  Ca- 
leb Quotem  of  the  American  vocabulary.  Yon 
call  upon  a  genUeman  in  a  country  town,  and 
hie  help  informs  you  that  he  is  "fixing  him- 
self" just  now,  but  will  be  down  directly :  by 
which  you  are  to  understand  that  he  is  dres^ 
ing.  You  inquire,  on  board  a  steamboat,  of  a  fel- 
low-passenger, whether  breakfast  will  be  ready 
soon,  and  he  tells  you  he  should  think  so,  for 
when  he  was  last  below,  they  were  "  fixing  the 
tables :"  in  other  words,  laying  the  cloth.  Yon 
beg  a  porter  to  collect  your  luggage,  and  he  en- 
treats you  not  to  be  uneasy,  for  he'll  "fix  it  pres- 
ently :"  and  if  you  complain  of  indisposition, 
you  are  advised  to  have  recourse  to  Doctor  so 
and  80,  who  will  "  fix  you"  in  no  time. 

One  night,  I  ordered  a  bottle  of  mulled  wine 
at  a  hotel  where  I  was  staying,  and  waited  a 
long  time  for  it ;  at  length  it  was  put  upon  the 
table  with  an  apology  from  the  landlord  that  lie 
feared  it  wasn't  "fixed  properly."  And  I  recol- 
lect once,  at  a  stage-coach  dinner,  overhearing 
a  very  stern  gentleman  demand  o^a  waiter 
who  presented  him  with  a  plate  of  underdone 
roast  beef,  "whether  he  called  that,  fixing  UtMl 
A'mighty's  vittles  1"  .  ..^-     


M 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


There  is  no  doubt  that  the  meal,  at  which 
the  invitation  was  tendered  to  me  which  has 
•ccasioned  this  digression,  was  disposed  of 
somewhat  ravenously ;  and  that  the  gentlemen 
thrust  the  broad-bladed  knives  and  the  two- 
pronged  forks  farther  down  their  throats  than  I 
ever  saw  the  same  weapons  go  before,  except 
in  the  hands  of  a  skilful  juggler :  but  no  man 
•at  down  until  the  ladies  were  seated ;  or  omit- 
ted any  little  act  of  politeness  which  could  con- 
tribute to  their  comfort.  Nor  did  I  ever  once, 
on  any  occasion,  anywhere,  during  my  rambles 
in  America,  see  &  woman  exposed  to  the  slight- 
est act  of  rudeness,  incivility,  or  even  inatten- 
tion. 

By  the  time  the  meal  was  over,  the  rain, 
which  seemed  to  have  worn  itself  out  by  com- 
ing down  so  fast,  was  nearly  over  too ;  and  it 
became  feasible  to  go  on  deck :  which  was  a 
great  relief,  notwithstanding  its  being  a  very 
■mall  deck,  and  being  rendered  still  smaller  by 
the  luggage  which  was  heaped  together  in  the 
middle  under  a  tarpauUn  covering ;  leaving,  on 
either  side,  a  path  so  narrow,  that  it  became  a 
science  to  walk  to  and  fro  witliout  tumbling 
overboard  into  the  canal.  It  was  somewhat 
embarrassing  at  first,  too,  to  have  to  duck  nim- 
bly, every  five  minutes,  whenever  the  man  at 
the  helm  cried  "Bridge!"  and  sometimes, 
when  the  cry  was  "  Low  Bridge,"  to  lie  down 
Dearly  flat.  But  custom  famUiarizes  one  to 
anything,  and  there  were  so  many  bridges  that 
it  took  a  very  short  time  to  get  used  to  this. 

As  night  came  on,  and  we  drew  in  sight  of 
the  first  range  of  hills,  which  are  the  outposts 
of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  the  scenery,  which 
had  been  uninteresting  hitherto,  became  more 
bold  and  striking.  The  wet  ground  reeked  and 
smoked,  after  the  heavy  fall  of  rain ;  and  the 
croaking  of  the  frogs  (whose  noise  in  these 
parts  is  almost  incredible)  sounded  as  though  a 
million  of  fairy  teams  with  bells  were  traveUing 
through  the  air,  and  keeping  pace  with  us. 
The  night  was  cloudy  yet,  but  moonlight  too : 
and  when  we  crossed  the  Susquehanna  river — 
over  which  there  is  an  extraordinary  wooden 
bridge  with  two  galleries,  one  above  the  other, 
so  that  even  there,  two  boat  teams  meeting, 
may  pass  without  oonfusion — it  was  wild  and 
grand. 

I  have  mentioned  my  having  been  in  some 
uncertainty  and  doubt,  at  first,  relative  to  the 
deeping  arrangements  on  board  this  boat.  I 
lemained  in  the  same  vague  state  of  mind  until 
ten  o'clock  or  thereabout,  when,  going  below,  I 
found  suspended  on  either  side  of  the  cabin, 
three  long  tiers  of  hanging  book-shelves,  de- 
signed apparently  for  volumes  of  the  small  oc- 
tavo size.  Looking  with  greater  attention  at 
these  contrivances  (wondering  to  find  such 
literary  preparations  in  such  a  place),  I  descried 
on  each  shelf  a  sort  of  microscopic  sheet  and 
blanket;  then  I  began  dimly  to  comprehend 
that  the  passengers  were  the  library,  and  tliat 
they  were  to  be  arranged,  edgewise,  on  these 
shelves,  till  morning. 

I  was  assisted  to  this  conclusion  by  seeing 
some  of  them  gathered  round  the  master  of  the 
boat,  at  one  of  the  tables,  drawing  lots  with  all 
the  anxieties  and  passions  of  gamesters  depict- 
ed in  their  countenances ;  while  others,  with 
•mall  pieces  of  cardboard  in  their  bands,  were 


groping  among  the  shelves  in  search  of  num* 
bers  corresponding  with  those  they  had  drawn. 
As  soon  as  any  gentleman  found  his  number, 
he  took  possession  of  it  by  immediately  undress- 
ing himself  and  crawling  into  bed.  The  rapidi- 
ty with  which  an  agitated  gambler  subsided 
into  a  snoring  slumberer,  was  one  of  the  most 
singular  efl^cts  I  have  ever  witnessed.  As  to 
the  ladies,  they  were  already  abed,  behind  the 
red  curtain,  which  was  carefully  drawn  and 
pinned  up  the  centre ;  though  as  every  cough, 
or  sneeze,  or  whisper,  behind  this  curtain,  was 
perfectly  audible  before  it,  we  had  still  r  lively 
consciousness  of  their  society. 

The  politeness  of  the  person  in  authority  had 
secured  to  me  a  shelf  in  a  nook  near  this  ied 
curtain,  in  some  degree  removed  from  the  great 
body  of  sleepers :  to  which  place  I  retired,  witb 
many  acknowledgments  to  him  for  his  attention. 
I  found  it,  on  after  measurement,  just  the  widtb- 
of  an  ordinary  sheet  of  Bath  post-letter  paper  ; 
and  I  was  at  first  in  some  uncertainty  as  to  the 
best  means  of  getting  into  it.  But  the  shelf 
being  a  bottom  one,  I  finally  determined  on  ly- 
ing upon  the  floor,  rolling  gently  in,  stopping 
immediately  I  touched  the  mattress. 


stoppi 
wtmc 


maining  for  the  night  with  that  side  uppennost, 
whatever  it  might  be.  Luckily,  I  came  upon 
my  back  at  exactly  the  right  moment.  I  waa 
much  alarmed  on  looking  upward,  to  see,  by 
the  shape  of  his  half  yard  of  sacking  (which  his 
weight  had  bent  into  an  exceedingly  tight  bag), 
that  there  was  a  very  heavy  gentleman  above 
me,  whom  the  slender  cords  seemed  quite  in- 
capable of  holding ;  and  I  could  not  help  reflect- 
ing upon  the  grief  of  my  wife  and  family  in  the 
event  of  his  coming  down  in  the  night.  But  aa 
I  could  not  ha-'e  got  up  again  without  a  severe 
bodily  struggle,  which  might  have  alarmed  the 
ladies,  and  as  I  had  nowhere  to  go  to,  even  if  I 
had,  I  shut  my  eyes  upon  the  danger  and  re- 
mained there. 

One  of  two  remarkable  circumstances  is  in- 
disputably a  fact,  with  reference  to  that  class 
of  society  who  travel  in  these  boats.  Either 
they  carry  their  restlessness  to  such  a  pitch 
that  they  never  sleep  at  all,  or  they  expectorate 
in  dreams,  which  would  be  a  remarkable  min- 
gling of  the  real  and  ideal.  All  night  long,  and 
every  night,  on  this  canal,  there  was  a  perfect 
storm  and  tempest  of  spitting ;  and  once  my 
coat,  being  in  the  very  centre  of  a  hurricane 
sustained  by  five  gentlemen  (which  moved  ver- 
tically, strictly  carrying  out  Reid*s  Theory  of 
the  I^w  of  Storms),  I  was  fain  the  next  morn- 
ing to  lap  it  on  the  deck,  and  rub  it  down  with 
fair  water  before  it  was  in  a  condition  to  be 
worn  again. 

Between  five  and  six  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
we  got  up,  and  some  of  us  went  on  deck,  to 
give  them  an  opportunity  of  taking  the  shelves 
down;  while  others,  the  morning  being  very 
cold,  crowded  round  the  rusty  stove,  cherishing 
the  newly-kindled  fire,  and  filling  the  grate  with 
those  voluntary  contributions  of  which  they  had 
been  so  liberal  all  night.  The  washing  accom- 
modations were  primitive.  There  was  a  tin 
ladle  chained  to  the  deck,  with  which  every 
gentleman  who  thought  it  necessary  to  cleanse 
himself  (some  were  superior  to  this  weakness), 
fished  the  dirty  water  out  of  the  canal,  and 
poured  it  into  a  tin  basin,  secured  in  like  man 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


vr 


ner.  There  was  also  a  jack-towel.  And,  hang- 
ing up  before  a  little  looking-glass  in  the  bar, 
in  the  immediate  Ticinity  of  the  bread  and 
cheese  and  biscuits,  were  a  public  comb  and 
hair-brush. 

At  eight  o'clock,  the  shelves  being  taken 
down  and  put  away,  and  the  tables  joined  to- 
gether, everybody  sat  down  to  the  tea,  cofiee, 
bread,  butter,  salmon,  shad,  liver,  steak,  pota- 
toes, pickles,  ham,  chops,  black-puddings,  sau- 
sages, all  over  again.  Some  were  fond  of  com- 
pounding this  variety,  and  having  it  all  on  their 
plates  at  once.  As  each  gentleman  got  through 
his  own  personal  amount  of  tea,  coffee,  bread, 
butter,  s^mon,  shad,  liver,  steak,  potatoes, 
pickles,  ham,  chops,  black-puddings,  and  sau- 
sages, he  rose  up  and  walked  off.  When  every- 
body had  dune  with  everything,  the  fragments 
were  cleared  away ;  and  one  of  the  waiters  ap- 
pearing anew  in  the  character  of  a  barber, 
shaved  such  of  the  company  as  desired  to  be 
shaved;  while  the  remainder  looked  on,  or 
yawned  over  their  newspapers.  Dinner  was 
breakfast  again,  without  the  tea  and  coffee; 
and  wpper  and  breakfast  were  identical. 

.T|nre  was  a  man  on  board  this  boat,  with  a 
light  fresh-coloured  face,  and  a  pepper-and-salt 
suit  of  clothes,  who  was  the  most  inquisitive 
fellow  that  can  possibly  be  imagined.  He  never 
spoke  otherwise  than  interrogatively.  He  was 
an  imbodied  inquiry.  Sitting  down  or  standing 
up,  still  or  moving,  walking  the  deck  or  taking 
his  meals,  there  he  was,  with  a  great  note  of 
interrogation  in  each  eye,  two  in  his  cocked 
ears,  two  more  in  his  turned-up  nose  and  chin, 
at  least  half  a  dozen  more  about  the  corners  of 
his  mouth,  and  the  largest  one  of  all  in  his  hair, 
which  was  brushed  pertly  off  his  forehead  in  a 
flaxen  clump.  Every  button  in  his  clothes  said 
**£h1  What's  that  1  Did  you  speak  1  Say  that 
again,  will  you  1"  He  was  always  wide  awake, 
like  the  enchanted  bride  who  drove  her  husband 
frantic ;  always  restless ;  always  thirsting  for 
answers;  perpetually  seeking  and  never  find- 
ing.   There  never  was  such  a  curious  man. 

I  wore  a  fur  great-coat  at  that  time,  and  be- 
fore we  were  well  clear  of  the  wharf,  he  ques- 
tioned me  concerning  it,  and  its  price,  and  where 
I  bought  it,  and  when,  and  what  fur  it  was,  and 
what  it  weighed,  and  what  it  cost.  Then  he 
took  notice  of  my  watch,  and  asked  what  that 
cost,  and  whether  it  was  a  French  watch,  and 
where  I  got  it,  and  how  I  got  it,  and  whether  I 
bought  it  or  had  it  given  me,  and  how  it  went, 
and  where  the  keyhole  was,  and  when  I  wound 
it,  every  night  or  every  morning,  and  whether  I 
evvr  forgot  to  wind  it  at  all,  and  if  I  did,  what 
then  1  Where  had  I  been  to  last,  and  where 
was  I  going  next,  and  where  was  I  going  after 
that,  and  had  I  seen  the  President,  and  what  did 
he  say,  and  what  did  I  say,  and  what  did  he  say 
when  I  had  said  that  1     'i\x\    Lor  now!  do  tell! 

Finding  that  nothing  would  satisfy  him,  I 
evaded  his  questions  after  the  first  score  or  two, 
and  in  particular  pleaded  ignorance  respecting 
the  nutne  of  the  fur  whereof  the  coat  was  made. 
I  uin  unable  tc  say  whether  this  was  the  reason, 
but  tliat  coat  fascinated  him  ever  afterward; 
he  usually  kept  close  behind  me  as  I  walked, 
and  moved  as  1  moved,  that  he  might  look  at  it 
the  better :  and  he  frequently  dived  into  narrow 
places  after  me  at  the  risk  of  his  life,  that  he 
H 


might  have  the  satisfaction  of  passing  his  hand 
up  the  back,  and  ruLHin.!;  it  the  wrong  way. 

We  had  another  odd  specimen  on  board,  of  a 
different  kind.  This  v  as  a  thin-faced,  spare 
figured  man  of  nf)<ddIo  age  and  stature,  dressed 
in  a  dusty  drabbish-coloured  suit,  such  as  I 
never  saw  before.  He  was  perfectly  quiet  du 
ring  the  first  part  of  the  journey  :  indeed  I  don't 
remember  having  so  much  as  seen  him  until  he 
was  brought  out  by  circumstances,  as  great  men 
often  are.  The  conjunction  of  events  which 
made  him  famous,  happened,  briefly,  thus. 

The  canal  extends  to  the  foot  of  the  mount- 
ain, and  there,  of  course,  it  stops :  the  passen- 
gers being  conveyed  across  it  by  land  carriage, 
and  taken  on  afterward  by  another  canal-boat, 
the  counterpart  of  the  first,  which  awaits  them 
on  the  other  side.  There  are  two  canal  lines' 
of  passage-boat ;  one  is  called  The  Express,  and 
one  (a  cheaper  one)  The  Pioneer.  The  Pioneer 
gets  first  to  the  mountain,  and  waits  for  The 
Express  people  to  come  up :  both  sets  of  pas- 
sengers being  conveyed  across  it  at  the  same 
time.  We  were  the  Express  company :  but 
when  we  had  crossed  the  mountain,  and  had 
come  to  the  second  boat,  the  proprietors  took  it 
into  their  heads  to  draught  all  the  Pioneers  inta 
it  likewise,  so  that  we  were  five-and-forty  at 
least,  and  the  accession  of  passengers  was  not 
at  all  of  that  kind  which  unproved  the  prospect 
of  sleeping  at  night.  Our  people  grumbled  at 
this,  as  people  do  in  such  cases :  but  suffered 
the  boat  to  be  towed  off  with  the  whole  freight 
aboard  nevertheless ;  and  away  we  went  down 
the  canal  At  home,  I  should  have  protested 
lustily,  but  being  a  foreigner  here,  I  held  my 
peace.  Not  so  this  passenger.  He  cleft  a  pattt 
among  the  people  on  deck  (we  were  neariy  all 
on  deck),  and  without  addressing  anybody 
whomsoever,  soliloquized  as  follows : 

*'  This  may  suit  you,  this  may,  but  it  don't 
suit  me.  This  may  be  all  very  well  with  Down 
Eastcrs  and  men  of  Boston  raising,  but  it  won't 
suit  my  figure  no  how ;  and  no  two  ways  about 
that :  and  so  I  tell  you.  Now !  I'm  from  the 
brown  forests  of  the  Mississippi,  I  am,  and  when 
the  sun  shines  on  me,  it  docs  shine — a  little. 
It  don't  glimmer  where  I  live,  the  sun  don't. 
No.  I'm  a  brown  forester,  I  am.  I  ain't  a 
Johnny  Cake.  There  are  no  smooth  skin» 
where  I  Uve.  We're  rough  men  there.  Rather. 
If  Down  Easters  and  men  of  Boston  raising  like 
this,  I'm  glad  of  it,  but  I'm  none  of  that  raising 
nor  of  that  breed.  No.  This  company  wants- 
a  little  fixing,  it  does.  I'm  the  wrong  sort  of 
man  for  'em,  /  am.  They  won't  like  me,  fAey 
won't.  This  is  piling  of  it  up,  a  little  too  mount- 
ainous, this  is."  At  the  end  of  every  one  of 
these  short  sentences  he  turned  upon  his  heel, 
and  walked  the  other  way :  checking  himself 
abruptly  when  be  had  finished  another  short 
sentence,  and  turning  back  again. 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  say  what  terrifio 
meaning  was  hidden  in  the  words  of  this  brown 
forester,  but  I  know  that  the  other  passengers  | 
looked  on  in  a  sort  of  admiring  horror,  and  that 
presently  the  boat  was  put  back  to  the  wharf, 
and  as  many  of  the  Pioneers  as  could  be  coaxed 
or  bullied  into  going  away,  were  got  rid  of. 

When  we  started  again,  some  of  the  boldest  | 
spirits  on  board,  made  bold  to  say  to  the  obvi- 
ous oooasion  of  this  improvement  in  our  pro«>- 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


peots,  "  Mnch  obliged  to  yoa,  sir :"  whereunto 
the  brown  fiirester  (waving  liis  hand,  and  still 
walliing  up  and  down  as  before),  replied,  "  No 
ynu  an't  You're  none  o'  my  raising.  You 
may  act  for  yourselves,  you  may.  I  have  pinted 
out  tlie  way.  Down  Easters  and  Johnny  Cakes 
can  follow  if  they  please.  I  an't  a  Johnny  Cake, 
/  an't.  I  am  from  the  brown  forests  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, 1  am" — and  so  on,  as  before.  He  was 
unanimously  voted  one  of  the  tables  for  his  bed 
at  night — there  is  a  great  contest  for  the  tables 
— in  consideration  of  his  public  services :  and 
be  had  the  warmest  corner  by  the  stove  through- 
out the  rest  of  the  journey.  But  I  never  could 
find  out  that  he  did  anything  except  sit  there  : 
nor  did  I  hear  him  speak  again  until,  in  the 
midst  of  the  bustle  and  turmoil  of  getting  the 
Juggage  ashore  in  the  dark  at  Pittsburg,  I  stum- 
bled over  him  as  he  sat  smoking  a  cigar  on  the 
cabin  steps,  and  heard  him  muttering  to  himself, 
with  a  short  laugh  of  defiance,  "  I  an't  a  Johnny 
Cake,  /an't.  I'm  from  the  brown  forests  of  the 
Mississippi,  /  am,  damme !"  I  am  inclined  to 
argue  from  this,  that  he  had  never  left  off  saying 
so ;  but  I  could  not  make  affidavit  of  that  part 
'Of  the  story,  if  required  to  do  so  by  my  Queen 
and  Country. 

As  we  have  not  reached  I*ittsburg  yet,  how- 
«ver,  in  the  order  of  our  narrative,  I  may  go  on 
to  remark  that  breakfast  was  perhaps  the  least 
idesirable  meal  of  the  day,  as  in  addition  to  the 
many  savoury  odours  arising  from  the  eatables 
already  mentioned,  there  were  whitfs  of  gin, 
whiskey,  brandy,  and  rum,  from  the  little  bar 
hard  by,  and  a  decided  seasoning  of  stale  tobac- 
'OO.  Many  of  the  gentlemen  passengers  were 
fax  from  particular  in  respect  of  their  linen, 
which  was  in  some  cases  as  yellow  as  the  little 
rivulets  that  bad  trickled  from  the  corners  of 
j  4heir  mouths  in  chewing,  and  dried  there.  Nor 
was  the  atmosphere  quite  free  from  zephyr 
whisperings  of  the  thirty  beds  which  had  just 
been  cleared  away,  and  of  which  we  were  far- 
ther and  more  pressingly  reminded  by  the  occa- 
^onal  appearance  on  the  table-cloth  of  a  kind  of 
Oame,  not  mentioned  in  the  Bill  of  Fare. 

And  yet,  despite  these  oddities — and  even  they 
liad,  for  me  at  least,  a  humour  of  their  own — 
^ere  was  much  in  this  mode  of  travelling  which 
X  heartily  enjoyed  at  the  time,  and  look  back 
«ipon  with  great  pleasure.  Even  the  running 
ap,  bare-necked,  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
itom  the  tainted  cabin  to  the  dirty  deck :  scoop- 
ing up  the  icy  water,  plunging  one's  head  into 
it,  and  drawing  it  out,  all  fresh  and  glowing 
with  the  cold :  was  a  good  thing.  The  fast, 
tirisk  walk  upon  the  towing-path,  between  that 
time  and  breakfast,  when  every  vein  and  artery 
seemed  to  tingle  with  health :  the  exquisite 
beauty  of  the  opening  day,  when  light  came 
learning  off  from  everything ;  the  lazy  motion 
of  the  boat,  when  one  lay  idly  on  the  deck,  look- 
ing through,  rather  than  at,  the  deep  blue  sky ; 
he  gliding  on,  at  night,  so  noiselessly,  past 
'rowning  hills,  sullen  with  dark  trees,  and  some- 
imes  angry  in  one  red  burning  spot  high  up, 
^where  unseen  men  lay  crouching  round  a  fire  : 
'  e  shining  out  of  the  bright  stars,  undisturbed 
y  noise  of  wheels  or  steam,  or  any  other  sound 
an  the  liquid  rippling  of  the  water  as  the  boat 
jmrent  on :  all  these  were  pure  delights. 

Then,  there  were  new  settlements  and  de- 


tached log-cabins  and  frame  houses,  fuD  of  in- 
terest for  strangers  from  an  old  country ;  cabins 
with  simple  ovens  outside,  made  of  clay ;  and 
lodgings  for  the  pigs,  nearly  as  good  as  many 
of  the  human  quarters  -,  broken  windows,  patch- 
ed with  worn-out  hats,  old  clothes,  old  boards, 
fragments  of  blankets,  and  paper  ;  and  home- 
made dressers  standing  in  the  open  air  without 
the  door,  whereon  was  ranged  the  household 
store,  not  hard  to  count,  of  earthen  jars  and 
pots.  The  eye  was  pained  to  see  the  stumps  of 
great  trees  thickly  strewn  in  every  field  of 
wheat,  and  seldom  to  lose  the  eternal  swamp 
and  dull  morass,  with  hundreds  of  rotten  trunks 
and  twisted  branches  steeped  in  its  unwhole- 
some water.  It  was  quite  sad  and  oppressive, 
to  come  upon  great  tracts  where  settlers  had 
been  burning  down  the  trees,  and  where  their 
wounded  bodies  lay  about,  like  those  of  murder- 
ed creatures,  while  here  and  there  some  char- 
red and  blackened  giant  reared  aloft  two  with- 
ered arms,  and  seemed  to  call  down  curses  on 
his  foes.  Sometimes,  at  night,  the  way  wound 
through  some  lonely  gorge,  like  a  mountain 
pass  in  Scotland,  shining  and  coldly  glittering 
in  the  light  of  the  moon,  and  so  closed  in  by 
high  steep  hills  all  around,  that  there  seemed 
to  be  no  egress  save  through  the  narrow  path 
by  which  we  had  come,  until  one  ragged  hill- 
side seemed  to  open,  and,  shutting  out  the 
moonlight  as  we  passed  into  its  gloomy  throat, 
wrapped  our  new  couse  in  shade  and  darkness. 

We  had  left  Harrisburgh  on  Friday.  On 
Sunday  morning  we  arrived  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountain,  which  is  crossed  by  railroad.  There 
are  ten  inclined  planes;  five  ascending,  and 
five  <iescending ;  the  carriages  are  dragged  up 
the  former,  and  let  slowly  down  the  latter,  by 
means  of  stationary  engines  ;  the  comparative- 
ly level  spaces  between,  being  traversed,  some- 
times by  horse,  and  sometimes  by  engine  pow- 
er, as  the  case  demands.  Occasionally  the  rails 
are  laid  upon  the  extreme  verge  of  a  giddy  pre- 
cipice ;  and  looking  from  the  carriage  window, 
the  traveller  gazes  sheer  down,  without  a  stone 
or  scrap  of  fence  between,  into  the  mountain 
depths  below.  The  journey  is  very  cheerfully 
made,  however ;  only  two  carriages  travelling 
together;  and  while  proper  precautions  are 
taken,  is  not  to  be  dreaded  for  its  dangers. 

It  was  very  pretty  travelling  thus,  at  a  rapid 
pace  along  the  heights  of  the  mountain  in  a 
keen  wind,  to  look  down  into  a  valley  full  of 
light  and  softness :  catching  glimpses,  through 
the  tree-tops,  of  scattered  cabins ;  children  run- 
ning to  the  doors ;  dogs  bursting  out  to  baric, 
whom  we  could  see  without  hearing ;  terrified 
pigs  scampering  homeward ;  families  sitting 
out  in  their  rude  gardens ;  cows  gazing  upward 
with  a  stupid  indifference ;  men  in  their  shirt- 
sleeves looking  on  at  their  unfinished  houses, 
planning  out  to-morrow's  work  ;  and  we  riding 
onward,  high  above  them,  like  a  whirlwind.  It 
was  amusing,  too,  when  we  had  dined,  and  rat- 
tled down  a  steep  pass,  having  no  other  moving 
power  than  the  weight  of  the  carriages  them- 
selves, to  see  the  engine  released,  long  after  us, 
come  buzzing  down  alone,  like  a  great  insect, 
its  back  of  green  and  gold  so  shining  in  the  sun, 
that  if  it  had  spread  a  pair  of  wings  and  soared 
away,  no  one  would  have  had  occasion,  as  I 
fancied,  for  the  least  surprise.    But  it  stopped 


slioi 


pass 
mea 
com 
O 
clan 
war 
oftl 
anot 
the 
the 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


60 


Bihort  of  us  in  a  very  business-like  manner  when 
we  reached  the  canal ;  and,  before  we  left  the 
wharf,  went  panting  up  this  hill  again,  with  the 
passengers  who  had  waited  our  arrival  for  the 
means  of  traversing  the  road  by  which  we  had 
come. 

On  the  Monday  evening,  furnace  fires  and 
clanking  hammers  on  the  banks  of  the  canal, 
warned  us  that  we  approached  the  termination 
of  this  part  of  our  journey.  After  going  through 
another  dreamy  place — a  long  aqueduct  across 
the  Alleghany  River,  which  was  stranger  than 
the  bridge  at  Harrisburgh,  being  a  vast  low 
wooden  chamber  full  of  water — we  emerged 
upon  that  ugly  confusion  of  backs  of  buildings 
and  crazy  galleries  and  stairs,  which  always 
abuts  on  water,  whether  it  be  river,  sea,  canal, 
er  ditch :  and  were  at  Pittsburg. 

Pittsburg  is  like  Birmingham  in  England; 
at  least  its  townspeople  say  so.  Setting  aside 
the  streets,  the  shops,  the  houses,  wagons,  fac- 
tories, public  buildings,  and  population,  perhaps 
it  may  be.  It  certainly  has  a  great  quantity  of 
smoke  hanging  about  it,  and  is  famous  for  its 
iron-works.  Besides  the  prison  to  which  I 
have  already  referred,  this  town  contains  a 
pretty  arsenal  and  other  institutions.  It  is  very 
beautifully  situated  on  the  Alleghany  River,  over 
which  there  are  two  bridges ;  and  the  villas  of 
the  wealthier  citizens  sprinkled  about  the  high 
grounds  in  the  neighourhood,  are  pretty  enough. 
We  lodged  at  a  most  excellent  hotel,  and  were 
admirably  served.  As  usual,  it  was  full  of 
boarders,  was  very  large,  and  had  a  broad  col- 
onnade to  every  story  of  the  house. 

We  tarried  here  three  days.  Our  next  point 
was  Cincinnati :  and  as  this  was  a  steamboat 
journey,  and  western  steamboats  usually  blow 
up  one  or  two  a  week  in  the  season,  it  was  ad- 
visable to  collect  opinions  in  reference  to  the 
comparative  safety  of  the  vessels  bound  that 
way,  then  lying  in  the  river.  One  called  The 
Messenger  was  the  best  recommended.  She 
had  bem  advertised  to  start  positively,  every 
day  for  a  fortnight  or  so,  and  had  not  gone  yet, 
aor  did  her  captain  seem  to  have  any  very  fixed 
intention  on  the  subject.  But  this  is  the  cus- 
tom :  for  if  the  law  were  to  bind  down  a  free 
and  independent  citizen  to  keep  his  word  with 
the  public,  what  would  become  of  the  Uberty  of 
the  subject  1  Besides,  it  is  in  the  way  of  trade. 
And  if  passengers  be  decoyed  in  the  way  of 
trade,  and  peo|^e  be  inconvenienced  in  the  way 
•f  trade,  what  man,  who  is  a  sharp  tradesman 
himself;'  shall  say  "  We  must  put  a  stop  to 
this  V 

Impressed  by  the  deep  solemnity  of  the  pub- 
lic announcement,  I  (being  then  ignorant  of 
these  usages)  was  for  hurrying  on  board  in  a 
breathless  state,  immediately;  but  receiving 
private  and  confidential  information  that  the 
boat  would  certainly  not  start  until  Friday, 
April  the  first,  we  made  ourselves  very  com- 
fortable in  the  mean  while,  and  went  on  board 
at  noon  that  day. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

raOH  FITTBBDRO    TO  CINCINNATI  IN  A  WESTISN 
STEAMBOAT.      CINCINNATI. 

Tbb  Messenger  was  one  among  a  crowd  of 
bigh-pressure  steamboats,  clustered  together  by 


the  wharf-side,  which,  looked  down  upon  from 
the  rising  ground  that  forms  the  landing-place, 
and  backed  by  the  lofty  bank  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river,  appeared  no  larger  than  so  many 
floating  models.  She  had  some  forty  passengers 
on  board,  exclusive  of  the  poorer  pessons  on  the 
lower  deck ;  and  in  half  an  hour,  or  less,  pro* 
ceeded  on  her  way. 

We  had,  for  ourselves,  a  tiny  state-room  with 
two  berths  in  it.  opening  out  ot  the  ladies'  cabin. 
There  was,  tmdoubtedly,  something  satisfactory 
in  this  "  location,"  inasmuch  as  it  was  in  the 
stem,  and  we  had  been  a  great  many  times  very 
gravely  recommended  to  keep  as  far  aft  as  pos- 
sible, "because  the  steamboats  generally  blew 
up  forward."  Nor  was  this  an  unnecessary  cat^- 
tion,  as  the  occurrence  and  circumstances  of 
more  than  one  such  fatality  daring  our  stay  suf- 
ficiently testified.  Apart  from  this  source  of  self- 
congratulation,  it  was  an  imspeakable  relief  to 
have  any  place,  no  matter  how  confined,  where 
one  could  be  alcne;  and  as  the  row  of  little 
chambers  of  which  this  wa.s  one,  had  each  a 
second  glass-door  besides  that  in  the  J* ' '"''  cabin, 
which  opened  on  a  narrow  gallery  t  je  the 
vessel,  where  the  other  passengers  selaom  came, 
and  where  one  could  sit  in  peace  and  gaze  upon 
the  shifting  prospect,  we  took  possession  of  our 
new  quarters  with  much  pleasure. 

If  the  native  packets  I  nave  already  described 
be  unlike  anything  we  are  in  the  habit  of  seeing 
on  water,  these  western  vessels  are  still  riore 
foreign  to  all  the  ideas  we  are  accustomed  to  en- 
tertain of  boats.  I  hardly  know  what  to  liken 
them  to,  or  how  to  describe  them. 

In  the  first  place,  they  have  no  mast,  cordage, 
tackle,  rigging,  or  other  such  boat-like  gear ;  nor 
have  they  anything  in  their  shape  at  all  calcula- 
ted to  remind  one  of  a  boat's  head,  stem,  sides, 
or  keel.  Except  that  they  are  in  the  water,  and 
display  a  couple  of  paddle-boxes,  they  might  be 
intended,  for  anything  that  appears  to  the  con- 
trary, to  perform  some  unknown  service,  hi^h 
and  dry,  upon  a  mountain  top.  There  is  no  vis- 
ible deck,  even:  nothing  but  a  long,  black,  ugly 
roof,  covered  with  burnt-out  featneiy  sparks; 
above  which,  tower  two  iron  chimneys,  and  a 
hoarse  escapti-valve,  and  a  glass  steerage-hon.se. 
.Then,  in  order  as  the  eye  defscends  towards  the 
water,  are  the  sides,  and  doors,  and  windows  of 
the  state-rooms,  jumbled  as  oddly  together  tm 
though  they  formed  a  small  street,  bmlt  by  the 
varying  tastes  of  a  dozen  men :  the  whole  is  sup- 

Eorted  on  beams  and  pillars  resting  on  a  dirty 
arge,  but  a  few  inches  above  the  water's  edge : 
and  in  the  narrow  space  between  this  upper  struc- 
ture and  this  barge's  deck,  are  the  furnace  fires 
and  machinery,  open  at  the  sides  to  every  wind 
that  blows,  and  every  storm  of  rain  it  drives  along 
itspath. 

Passing  one  of  these  boats  at  night,  and  seeing 
the  great  body  of  fire,  exposed  as  I  have  just  de- 
scribed, that  rages  and  roars  beneath  the  frail  pile 
of  painted  wood:  the  machinery,  not  warded  off 
or  guarded  in  any  vr&y,  but  doing  its  work  in  the 
midst  of  the  crowd  of  idlers  and  emigrants  and 
children,  who  throng  the  lower  deck ;  under  the 
management,  too,  of  reckless  men,  whose  ac- 
quaintance with  its  mysteries  may  have  been  of 
six  months'  standing :  one  feels  directly  that  the 
wonder  is,  not  that  there  should  be  so  many  fatal 
accidents,  but  tliat  any  journey  should  be  safely 
made. 

Within,  there  is  one  long  narrow  cabin,  the 
whole  length  of  the  boat;  from  which  the  ■tat** 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


rooms  open,  on  both  sides.  A  small  portion  of 
it  at  the  stern,  is  partitioned  off  for  the  ladies ; 
and  the  bar  is  at  the  opposite  extreme.  There  is 
a  long  table  down  the  centre,  and  at  either  end  a 
itove.  The  washing  apparatus  is  forward,  on 
the  deck.  It  is  a  little  better  than  on  board  the 
canal-boat,  but  not  much.  In  all  modes  of  travel- 
ling, the  American  customs,  with  reference  to 
the  means  of  personal  cleanliness  and  wholesome 
ablution,  are  extremely  negligent  and  filthy;  and 
I  strongly  incline  to  the  belief  that  a  considerable 
amount  of  illness  is  referable  to  this  cause. 

We  are  to  be  on  board  the  Messenger  three 
days:  arriving  at  Cincinnati  (barring  accidents) 
oa  Monday  morning.  There  are  three  meals  a 
day.  Breakfast  at  seven,  dinner  at  half-past 
twelve,  supper  about  six.  At  each,  there  are  a 
jnreatmany  small  dishes  and  plates  upon  the  table, 
with  very  little  in  them ;  so  that  although  there 
is  every  appearance  of  a  mighty  "  spread,"  there 
is  seldom  really  more  than  a  joint:  except  for 
those  who  fancy  slices  of  beet-root,  shreds  of 
dried  beef,  complicated  entanglements  of  yellow 
pickle  j  maize,  Indian  com,  apple-sauce,  and 
pumpkin. 

Some  people  iancy  all  these  little  dainties  to- 
gether (and  sweet  preserves  besides),  by  way  of 
lelish  to  their  roast  pig.  They  are  generally  those 
dyspectic  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  eat  unheard 
of  quantities  of  hot  com  bread  (^almost  as  good 
for  the  digestion  as  a  kneaded  pin-cushion,)  for 
breakfast,  and  for  supper.  Those  who  do  not 
observe  this  custdm,  and  who  help  themselves 
several  times  instead,  usually  suck  their  knives 
and  forks  meditatively,  until  they  have  decided 
what  to  take  next:  then  pull  them  out  of  their 
mouths;  put  them  in  the  dish;  help  themselves ; 
and  fall  to  work  again.  At  dinner,  there  is  no- 
thing to  drink  upon  the  table,  but  great  jugs  fbll 
of  cold  water.  Nobody  says  anything,  at  any 
meal,  to  anvbody.  All  the  passengers  are  very 
dismal,  aoi  seem  to  have  tremendous  secrets 
weighingon  their  minds.  There  is  no  conversa- 
tion, no  laughter,  no  cheerfulness,  no  sociality, 
except  in  spitting;  and  that  is  done  in  silent  fel- 
lowship round  the  stone,  when  the  meal  is  over. 
Everyman  sitsdown,  dull  and  languid ;  swallows 
bis  fare  as  if  breakfasts,  dinners,  and  suppers, 
were  necessities  of  nature  never  to  be  coup'.ed 
with  recreation  or  enjoyment ;  and  having  bolted 
his  food  in  a  ^oomy  silence,  bolts  himself,  in  the 
tame  state.  But  for  these  animal  observances, 
you  might  suppose  the  whole  male  portion  of  the 
company  to  be  the  melancholy  ghosts  of  depart- 
ed book-Keepers,  who  had  fallen  dead  at  the  desk ;' 
such  is  their  weary  air  of  business  and  calcula- 
tion. Undertakers  on  duty  would  be  sprightly 
beside  them ;  and  a  collation  of  funeral-baked 
meats,  in  comparison  with  these  meals,  would 
be  a  sparkling  festivity. 

The  people  are  all  alike,  too.  There  is  no  di- 
versity of  character.  They  travel  about  on  the 
same  errands,  say  and  do  the  same  things  in  ex- 
actly the  same  manner,  and  follow  in  the  same 
dull  cheerless  round.  AH  down  the  long  table, 
there  is  scarcely  a  man  who  is  in  anythingdiffer- 
ent  from  his  neighbour.  It  is  quite  a  relief  to 
have,  sitting  opposite,  that  little  girl  of  tifleen 
with  the  loquacious  chin :  who,  to  do  her  justice, 
acts  up  to  it,  and  fully  identifies  nature's  hand- 
writing, for  of  all  the  small  chatterboxes  that 
ever  invaded  the  repose  of  adrowsy  ladies'  cabin, 
she  is  the  first  and  loremost.  The  beautiful  girl, 
who  sits  a  little  beyond  her— farther  down  the 
table  there — married  the  yotmg  man  with  the 


dark  whiskers,  who  sits  beyond  her,  only  last 
month.  They  are  going  to  settle  in  the  very 
Far  West,  where  he  has  lived  <bur  years,  but 
where  she  has  never  been.  They  were  both 
overturned  in  a  stage-coach  the  other  day  (a  bad 
omen  anywhere  else,  where  overturns  are  not  so 
common),  and  his  head,  which  bears  the  marks 
of-a  recent  wound,  is  bound  up  still.  She  was 
hurt  too,  at  the  same  time,  and  lay  insensible  for 
some  days ;  bright  as  her  eyes  are,  now. 

Farther  down  still,  sits  a  man  who  is  going 
some  miles  beyond  their  place  of  destination,  to 
"improve"  a  newly  discovered  copper  mine. 
He  carries  the  village — that  is  to  be — with  him : 
a  few  frame  cottages,  and  an  apparatus  for 
smelting  the  copper.  He  carries  its  people  too. 
They  are  partly  American  and  partly  Irish,  and 
herd  together  on  the  lower  deck ;  where  they 
amused  themselves  last  evening  till  the  night 
was  pretty  far  advanced,  by  alternately  firing  off 
pistols  and  singing  hymns. 

They,  and  the  very  few  who  have  been  left  at 
table  twenty  minutes,  rise,  and  go  away.  We 
do  so  too;  and  passing  through  our  little  state- 
room,  resume  our  seats  in  the  quiet  gallery  with- 
out. 

A  fine  broad  river  always,  but  in  some  parts 
much  wider  than  in  others:  and  then  there  is 
usually  a  green  island,  covered  with  trees,  di- 
viding it  into  two  streams.  Occasionally,  we 
stop  for  a  few  minutes,  maybe  to  take  in  wood, 
maybe  for  passengers,  at  some  small  town  or 
village  (I  ought  to  say  city,  every  place  is  a  city 
here);  but  the  banks  are  for  the  most  part  deep 
solitudes,  overgrown  with  trees,  which,  herea- 
about,  are  already  in  leaf  and  very  green.  For 
miles,  and  miles,  and  miles,  these  solitudes  are 
unbroken  by  any  sign  of  human  life  or  trace  of 
human  footstep ;  nor  is  anything  seen  to  move 
about  them  but  the  blue  jay,  whose  cplour  is  s© 
bright,  and  yet  so  delicate,  that  it  looks  like  a 
flying  flower.  At  lengthened  intervals  a  log 
cabin,  with  its  little  space  of  cleared  land  about 
it,  nestles  under  a  rising  ground,  and  sends  its 
thread  of  blue  smoke  curling  up  into  the  sky. 
It  stands  in  the  comer  of  the  poor  field  of  wheat, 
which  is  full  of  great  unsightly  stumps,  like, 
earthy  butchers'-blocks.  Sometimes  the  ground 
is  only  just  now  cleared:  the  felled  trees  lying 
yet  upon  the  soil :  and  the  log-house  only  this 
moming  begun.  As  we  pass  this  clearing,  the 
settler  leans  upon  his  axe  or  hammer,  and  looks 
wistfully  at  the  people  from  the  world.  The 
children  creep  but  of^  the  temporary  hut,  which 
is  like  a  gipsy  lent  upon  the  ground,  and  clap 
their  hands  and  shout.  The  dog  only  glances 
round  at  us ;  and  then  looks  up  into  his  master's 
face  again,  as  if  he  were  rendered  uneasv  by  any 
suspension  of  the  common  business,  and  had  no- 
thing more  to  do  with  pleasurers.  And  still 
there  is  the  same,  eternal  loreground.  The  river 
has  washed  away  its  banks,  and  stately  trees 
have  fallen  down  into  the  stream.  Some  have 
been  there  so  long,  that  they  are  mere  dry  giis- 
ly  skeletons.  Some  have  just  toppled  over,  and 
having  earth  yet  about  their  roots,  are  bathing 
their  green  heads  in  the  river,  and  putting  forth 
new  shoots  and  branches.  Some  are  almost 
sliding  down,  as  you  look  at  them.  And  some 
were  drowned  so  long  ago,  that  their  bleached 
arms  start  out  from  the  middle  of  the  current, 
and  seem  to  try  to  grasp  the  boat,  and  drag  it 
imder  water. 

Through  such  a  scene  as  this,  the  unwieldy 
machine  takes  its  hoarse  sullen  way:  venting^ 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


at  every  revolution  of  the  paddles,  a  loud  high- 
pressure  blast;  enough,  one  would  think,  ta 
waken  up  the  host  ol'  Indians  who  lie  buried  in 
a  great  mound  yonder:  so  old,  that  mighty  oaks 
and  other  forest  trees  have  struck  their  roots  into 
its  earth;  and  so  high,  that  it  is  a  hill,  even 
among  the  hills  that  Nature  planted  round  it. 
The  very  river,  as  though  it  snared  one's  feel- 
ings of  compassion  for  the  extinct  tribes  who 
lived  so  pleasantly  here,  in  their  blessed  igno- 
rance of  white  existence,  hundreds  of  years  ago, 
steals  out  of  its  way  to  ripple  near  this  mound : 
and  there  are  few  places  where  the  Ohio  sparkles 
more  brightly  than  in  Big  Grave  Creek. 

All  this  I  see,  as  I  sit  in  the  little.stern-gallery, 
mentioned  just  now.  Evening  slowly  steals 
upon  the  landscape,  and  change.^  it  before  me, 
when  we  stop  to  set  some  emigrants  ashore. 

Five  men,  as  many  women,  and  a  little  girl. 
All  their  worldly  goods  are  a  bag,  a  lar^  chest, 
and  an  old  chair:  one,  old,  high-backed,  rush- 
bottomed  chair :  a  solitary  settler  in  itself.  They 
are  rowed  ashore  in  the  boat,  while  the  vesssi 
stands  a  little  off  awaiting  its  return,  the  water 
being  shallow.  They  are  landed  at  the  foot  of 
a  high  bank,  on  the  summit  of  which  are  a  few 
log  cabins,  attainable  only  by  a  long  winding 
path.  It  is  growing  dusk;  but  the  sun  is  verv 
red,  and  shines  in  the  water  and  on  some  of  the 
tree-tops,  like  fire. 

The  men  get  out  of  the  boat  first ;  help  out 
the  women;  take  out  the  bag,  the  chest,  the 
chair i  bid  the  rowers  "good  by;"  and  shove 
the  boat  off  for  them.  At  the  first  plash  of  the 
oars  in  the  water,  the  oldest  woman  of  the  party 
sits  down  in  the  old  chair,  close  to  the  water  s 
edge,  without  speaking  a  word.  None  of  the 
others  sit  down,  though  the  chest  is  large  enough 
for  many  seats.  They  all  stand  where  they 
landed,  as  if  stricken  into  stone ;  and  look  after 
the  boat.  So  they  remain,  quite  still  and  silent : 
the  old  woman  and  her  old  chair  in  the  centre ; 
the  bag  and  chest  upon  the  shore,  without  any- 
body heeding  them :  all  eyes  fixed  upon  the  boat. 
It  comes  alongside,  is  made  fast,  the  men  jump 
on  board,  the  engine  is  put  in  motion,  and  we  go 
boarsely  on  again.  There  they  stand  yet,  with- 
out the  motion  of  a  hand.  I  can  see  them, 
through  my  glass,  when,  in  the  distance  and  in- 
creasing darkness,  the^  are  mere  specks  to  the 
eye:  lingering  there  still :  the  old  woman  in  the 
old  chair,  and  all  the  rest  about  her:  not  stirring 
in  the  least  degree.    And  thus  I  slowly  lose  them. 

The  night  is  dark,  and  we  proceed  within  the 
shadow  of  the  wooded  bank,  which  makes  it 
darker.  After  gliding  past  the  sombre  maze  of 
boughs  for  a  long  time,  we  come  upon  an  open 
space  where  the  tall  trees  are  burning.  The 
snape  of  every  branch  and  twig  is  expressed  in 
a  deep  red  glow,  and  as  the  light  wind  stirs  and 
ruffles  it,  they  seem  to  vegetate  in  fire.  It  is 
such  a  sight  as  we  read  of  in  legends  of  enchant- 
ed forests :  saving  that  it  is  sad  to  see  these  no- 
ble works  wasting  away  so  awfully,  alone ;  and 
to  think  how  many  years  must  come  and  go  be- 
fore the  magic  that  created  them  will  rear  their 
like  upon  this  ground  again.  But  the  time  will 
come:  and  when,  in  their  changed  ashes,  the 
growth  of  centuries  unborn  has  struck  its  roots, 
the  restless  men  of  distant  ages  will  repair  to 
these  again  unpeopled  solitudes;  and  their  fel- 
lows, in  cities  far  away,  that  slumber  now,  per- 
haps, beneath  the  rolling  sea,  will  read,  in  lan- 
guage strange  to  any  ears  in  being  now  but  very 
old  to  them,  of  primeval  forests  where  the  axe 


was  never  heard,  and  where  the  jungled  groond 
was  never  trodden  by  a  human  lout. 

Midnight  and  sleep  blot  out  these  scenes  and 
thoughts :  and  when  the  morning  shines  again, 
it  gilds  the  house-tops  of  a  lively  city,  belore 
whose  broad  paved  wharf  the  boat  is  moored ; 
with  other  boats,  and  flags,  and  moving  wheels, 
and  hum  of  men  around  it;  as  though  there 
were  not  a  solitary  or  silent  rood  ot  ground 
wiihin  the  compass  of  a  thousand  miles. 

Cincinnati  is  a  beautiful  city ;  cheerful,  thri- 
ving, and  animated.  I  have  not  often  seen  a 
place  that  commends  itself  so  favourably  and 
pleasantly  to  a  stranger  at  the  first  glance  as  this 
does:  with  its  clean  houses  of  red  and  white,  its 
well-paved  roads,  and  footways  of  bright  tile. 
Nor  does  it  become  less  prepossessing  on  a 
closer  acquaintance.  The  streets  are  broad  and 
airy,  the  shops  extremely  good,  the  private  resi- 
dences remarkable  for  their  elegance  and  neat- 
ness. There  is  somethingof  invention  and  fancy 
in  the  varying  styles  of  these  latter  erections, 
which,  after  the  dull  company  of  the  steamboat, 
is  perfectly  delightful,  as  conveying  an  assurance 
that  there  are  i>uch  qualities  still  in  existence. 
The  disposition  to  ornament  these  pretty  villxis 
and  render  them  attractive,  leads  to  the  culture 
of  trees  and  flowers,  and  the  laying  out  of  well- 
kept  gardens,  the  sight  of  which,  to  those  who 
walk  along  the  streets,  is  inexpressibly  refresh- 
ing and  agreeable.  I  was  quite  charmed  with 
the  appearance  of  the  town,  and  its  adjoining 
suburb  of  Mount  Auburn;  from  which  the  city, 
lying  in  an  amphitheatre  of  hills,  forms  a  picture 
of  remarkable  beauty,  and  is  seen  to  great  advan- 
tage. 

There  happened  to  be  a  great  Temperance 
Convention  held  here  on  the  day  after  our  arrival ; 
and  as  the  order  of  march  brought  the  proces- 
sion under  the  windows  of  the  hotel  in  which. we 
lodged,  when  they  started  in  the  morning,  I  had 
a  good  opportunity  of  seeing  it.  It  comprised 
se^veral  thousand  men ;  the  members  of  various 
"  Washington  Auxiliary  Temperance  Soei»> 
ties ;"  and  was  marshalled  by  officers  on  horse> 
back,  who  cantered  briskly  up  and  down  the  line, 
with  scarves  and  ribands  of  bright  colours  flut- 
tering out  behind  them  gayly.  There  were  bands 
of  music,  too,  and  banners  out  of  number ;  uid 
it  was  a  fresh,  holyday-looking  concourse  alto> 
gether. 

I  was  particularly  pleased  to  see  the  Irishmen, 
who  formed  a  distinct  society  among  them- 
selves, and  mustered  very  strong  with  their  green 
scarves ;  carrying  their  national  Harp  and  their 
Portrait  of  Father  Mathew,  high  above  the 
people's  heads.  They  looked  as  jolly  and  good- 
nnmoured  as  ever  j  and,  working  the  hardest  for 
their  living  and  doing  any  kind  of  sturdy  labour 
that  came  in  their  way,  were  the  most  independ- 
ent fellows  there,  I  thought 

The  banners  were  very  well  painted  and 
flaunted  down  the  street  famoasly.  There  was 
the  smiting  of  the  rock,  and  the  gushing  forth  of 
the  waters ;  and  there  was  a  temperate  man  with 
"considerable  of  a  hatchet"  (as  the  standard- 
bearer  would  probably  have  said),  aiming  a 
deadly  blow  at  a  serpent  which  was  appnrenlly 
about  to  spring  upon  nim  from  the  lop  of  a  barrrel 
of  spirits.  But  the  chief  feature  of  this  part  of 
the  show  was  a  hnge  allegorical  device,  borne 
among  the  ship-cnrnenters,  on  one  side  whereof 
the  steamboat  Alcohol  was  rRpresented  bursting 
her  boiler  and  exploding  with  a  great  crash, 
while  upon  the  other,  the  good  ship  Temperance 


NOTES  ON   AMERICA. 


tailed  away  with  a  fair  wind,  to  ih«  heart's 
content  oi  the  captain,  crew,  and  pas&engers. 

Alter  going  round  the  town,  the  procession 
repaired  to  a  certain  appointed  place,  where,  as 
the  printed  programme  set  forth,  it  would  be 
received  by  the  children  of  the  different  i'ree- 
schouls,  "  singing  Temperance  Songs."  I  was 
prevented  from  getting  there,  in  time  to  hear 
these  Little  Warblers,  or  to  report  upon  this 
novel  kind  of  vocal  entertainment:  novel,  at 
least,  to  me :  but  I  found,  in  a  large  open  space, 
each  society  gathered  round  its  own  banners, 
and  listening  in  silent  attention  to  its  own  orator. 
The  speeches,  jodging  from  the  little  I  coold 
hear  of'  them,  were  certainly  adapted  to  the  occa- 
sion, as  having  that  degree  of^  relationship  to 
cold,  water  which  wet  blanketi  may  claim :  but 
the  main  thing  was  the  conduct  and  appearance 
of  the  audience  throughout  the  day;  and  that 
was  admira  ^e  and  lull  of  promise. 

Cincinnati  is  honourably  famous  for  its  freo- 
schools.  of  which  it  has  so  many  that  no  per- 
son's cnild  among  its  population  can,  by  possi- 
bility, want  the  means  of  education,  whicn  are 
extended,  upon  an  average,  to  four  thousand 
pupils,  annually.  I  was  only  present  in  one  of 
th^  establishments  during  the  hours  of  instruc- 
tion. In  the  boys'  department,  which  was  full 
of  little  urchins  (varvmg  in  their  ages,  I  should 
say,  from  six  years  old  to  ten  or  twelve),  the  mas- 
ter offered  to  institute  an  extemporary  examina- 
tion of  the  pupils  in  algebra :  a  proposal,  which, 
as  I  was  by  no  means  confident  of  my  ability  to 
detect  mistakes  in  that  science,  I  declined  with 
some  alarm.    In  the  girls'  school,  reading  was 

froposed,  and  as  I  felt  tolerably  equal  to  that  art, 
expressed  my  willingness  to  hear  a  class. — 
Books  were  distributed  accordingly,  and  some 
half  dozen  girls  relieved  each  other  in  reading 

Saragraphs  from  English  History.  But  it  was  a 
ry  compilation,  infinitely  above  their  powers ; 
and  when  they  had  blundered  through  tliree  or 
four  dreary  passages  concerning  the  Treaty  of 
Amiens,  and  other  thrilling  topics  of  the  saihe 
nature  ^obviously  without  comprehending  ten 
words),  I  expressed  myself  quite  satisfied.  It  is 
very  possible  that  they  only  mounted  to  this  ex- 
alted stave  in  the  Ladder  of  Learning,  for  the 
astonishment  of  a  visiter;  and  that  at  other  times 
they  keep  upon  its  lower  rounds ;  but  I  should 
have  been  much  belter  pleased  and  Sritisfied  if  I 
had  heard  them  exercised  in  simpler  lessons, 
which  they  understood. 

As  in  every  other  place  I  visited,  the  Judges 
here  were  gentlemen  of  high  character  and  at- 
tainments. I  was  in  one  of  the  courts  for  a  few 
nUnutes,  and  found  it  like  those  to  which  I  have 
already  referred.  A  nuisance  cause  was  trying ; 
there  were  not  many  spectators ;  and  the  wit- 
nesses, counsel,  and  jury,  formed  a  sort  of  family 
circle,  sufficiently  jocose  and  snug. 

The  society  with  which  I  mingled,  was  intel- 
li.Tent,  courteous,  and  agreeable.  The  inhabit- 
ants of  Cincinnati  are  proud  of  their  city,  as  one 
of  the  most  interesting  in  America :  and  with 
reason :  for  beautiful  and  thriving  as  it  is  now, 
and  containing,  as  it  does,  a  population  of  fifty 
thousand  souls,  but  two-ana-fifty  ^ears  have 
passed  away  si^ce  the  ground  on  which  it  stands 
(bought  at  that  time  for  a  few  dollars)  was  n 
wild  wood,  and  its  citizens  were  but  a  handful 
of  dwellers  in  scattered  lug  huts  upon  the  rivei^s 
shore. 


CHAPTER  XIL 

FROM  CIKCINNATI  TO  LOUI8VII.LI;  IN  ANOTHEa 
WESTERM  steamboat;  AND  FROM  LOUISVILLS 
TO  ST.  L0UI8  IN  ANOTHER.      »T.  LOUIS. 

Lgavinq  Cincinnati  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the 
forenoon,  we  embarked  tor  Louisville  in  the  Pike 
Steamboat,  which,  carrying  the  mails,  was  a 
packet  oi  a  much  better  class  than  that  in  which 
we  bad  come  from  Pittsburg.  As  this  passage 
does  not  occupy  more  than  twelve  or  thirteen 
hours^  we  arranged  to  go  ashore  that  night :  not 
coveting  the  distinction  of  sleeping  in  a  state- 
room, when  it  was  possible  to  sleep  anywhere 
else. 

There  chanced  to  be  on  board  this  boat,  in 
addition  to  the  usual  dreary  crowd  of  passengers, 
one  Pitchlynn,  a  chief  of  the  Choctaw  tribe  oi 
Indians,  who  tent  in  Ms  card  to  me,  and  with 
whom  I  had  the  pleasure  of  a  long  conversation. 

He  spoke  English  perfectly  well,  though  he 
had  not  begun  to  learn  the  language,  he  tola  me, 
until  he  was  a  young  man  grown.  He  had  read 
many  books ;  and  Scott's  poetry  appeared  to  have 
left  a  strong  impression  on  his  mind :  especially 
the  opening  of  The  Lady  of  the  Lake,  and  the 
great  battle  scene  in  Marmion,  in  which,  no 
doubt  from  the  congeniality  of  the  subjects  to  his 
own  pursuits  and  tastes,  he  had  great  interest  and 
delight.  He  appeared  to  understand  correctly, 
all  he  had  read;  and  whatever  fiction  had  enlist- 
ed his  sympathy  in  its  belief,  had  done  so  keenly 
and  earnestly,  I  might  almost  say  fiercely.  H!e 
was  dressed  in  our  ordinary  every-day  costume, 
which  hung  about  his  fine  figure  loosely,  ana 
with  indifferent  grace.  On  my  telling  him  that 
I  regretted  not  to  see  him  in  his  own  attire,  he 
threw  up  his  ri^ht  arm,  for  a  moment,  as  though 
he  were  brandishing  some  heavy  weapon,  and 
answered,  as  he  let  it  fall  again,  that  nis  race 
were  losing  many  things  besides  tneir  dress,  and 
would  soon  be  seen  upon  the  earth  no  more ;  but 
he  wore  it  at  home,  he  added  proudly. 

He  told  me  that  he  had  been  away  from  his 
home,  west  of  the  Mississippi,  seventeen  months : 
and  was  now  returning.  He  had  been  chiefly  at 
Washington  on  some  negotiations  pending  be- 
tween his  Tribe  and  the  Government;  which 
were  not  settled  yet  (he  said  in  a  melancholy  way), 
and  he  feared  never  would  be ;  for  what  conld  a 
few  poor  Indians  do,  against  such  well-skilled 
men  of  business  as  the  whites  1  He  had  no  love 
for  Washington ;  tired  of  towns  and  cities  very 
soon ;  and  longed  for  the  Forest  and  the  Prairie. 

I  asked  him  what  he  thought  of  Congress  1  He 
answered,  with  a  smile,  that  it  wanted  dignity,  in 
an  Indian's  eyes. 

He  would  very  much  like,  he  said,  to  see  Eng- 
land before  he  died ;  and  spoke  with  much  in- 
terest about  the  great  things  to  be  seen  there. 
When  I  told  him  of  that  chamber  in  the  British 
Museum  wherein  are  preserved  household  me- 
morials of  a  race  that  ceased  to  be,  thousands  of 
years  ago,  he  was  very  attentive,  and  it  was  not 
hard  to  see  that  he  had  a  reference  in  his  mind  to 
the  gradual  fading  away  of  his  own  people. 

This  led  us  to  speak  of  Mr.  Catlin's  gallery, 
which  he  praised  highly :  observing  that  his  own 
portrait  was  among  the  collection,  and  that  all 
the  likenesses  were  "  elegant."  Mr.  Cooper,  he 
said,  had  painted  the  Red  Man  well ;  and  so 
would  I,  he  knew,  if  I  would  go  home  with  hiin 
and  hunt  buffaloes,  which  he  was  quite  anxious 
I  should  do.  When  I  tcld  him  that  supposing  I 
went,  I  should  not  be  very  likelv  to  damage  tae 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


1 


buffaloes  much,  he  took  it  as  a  great  joke  and 
laughed  heurtily. 

He  was  a  rem.irkably  handsome  man ;  some 

J  ears  paM  Ibrty  I  shjuld  jud^e ;  witli  long  black 
air,  an  aquiline  nose,  broad  clieek  bones,  a  sun- 
burnt complexion,  and  a  very  bright,  ke.'n,  daik, 
and  piercing  eye.  There  were  but  twenty  thou- 
sand of  the  CJhuctaws  le!\,  he  said,  and  their 
number  was  decreasing  every  day.  A  liew  olhis 
brother  chiefs  had  been  obliged  to  become  civil- 
ized, and  to  make  themselves  accjuainted  with 
what  the  whites  knew,  for  it  was  their  only  chance 
of  existence.  But  they  were  not  many;  and  the 
rest  were  as  they  always  had  been.  He  dwelt 
on  this :  and  said  several  times  that  unless  they 
tried  to  assimilate  themselves  to  llieir  conquerors, 
(hey  must  be  swept  away  before  the  strides  of 
civilized  society. 

When  we  shook  hands  at  parting,  I  told  him 
he  must  come  to  England,  as  he  longed  to  see  the 
land  so  much;  that  I  should  hope  to  see  him 
there,  one  day ;  and  that  I  could  promise  him  he 
would  be  well  received  and  kindly  treated.  He 
was  evidently  pleased  by  this  assurance,  though 
he  rejoined  with  a  good-humoured  smile  and  an 
arch  shake  of  his  head,  that  the  English  used  to 
be  very  fond  of  the  Red  Man  when  they  wanted 
their  help,  but  had  not  cared  much  for  them 
since. 

He  took  his  leave ;  as  stately  and  complete  a 
gentleman  of  Nature's  making,  as  ever  I  beheld ; 
and  moved  among  the  people  in  the  boat,  another 
kind  of  being.  He  sent  me  a  lithographed  por- 
trait of  himself  soon  afterward ;  very  like,  though 
scarcely  handsome  enough;  which  I  have  care- 
fully preserved  in  memory  of  our  brief  acquaint- 
ance. 

There  was  nothing  very  interesting  in  the 
scenery  of  this  day's  journey,  which  brought  us, 
at  midnight,  to  Louisville.  We  slept  at  the  Gait 
House ;  a  splendid  hotel ;  and  were  as  handsome- 
ly lodged  as  though  we  had  been  in  Paris,  rather 
than  hundreds  of  miles  beyond  the  Allegnanies. 

The  city  presenting  no  objects  of  sufficient 
interest  to  detain  us  on  our  way,  we  resolved  to 
proceed  next  day  by  another  steamboat,  the  Ful- 
ton, and  to  join  it,  about  noon,  at  a  suburb  called 
Portland,  where  it  would  be  delayed  some  time 
in  passing  through  a  canal. 

The  interval,  afler  breakfast,  we  devoted  to 
riding  through  the  town,  which  is  regular  and 
cheerful :  the  streets  being  laid  out  at  right  angles, 
and  planted  with  young  trees.  The  buildings 
are  smoky  and  blackened,  from  the  use  of  bitu- 
minous coal,  bat  an  Englishman  is  well  used  to 
that  appearance,  and  indisposed  to  quarrel  with 
it.  "There  did  not  appear  to  be  much  business 
stirring;  and  some  unfinished  buildings  and  im- 

Erovements  seemed  to  intimate  that  the  city  had 
een  over-built  in  the  ardour  of  "  going  ahead," 
and  was  suffering  under  the  reaction  consequent 
upon  such  feverish  forcing  of  its  powers. 

On  our  way  to  Portland,  we  passed  a  "  Magis- 
trate's office,"  which  amused  me,  as  looking  far 
more  like  a  dame  school  than  any  police  estab- 
lishment ;  for  this  aMrful  Institution  was  nothing 
bat  a  little  lazy,  good-for-nothing  front  parlour, 
open  to  the  street ;  wherein  two  or  three  figures 
(I  presume  the  magistrate  and  his  myrmidons) 
were  basking  in  the  sunshine,  the  very  effigies 
of  languoi  <md  repose.  It  was  a  perfect  picture 
of  Justice  i  jtired  from  business  for  want  of  cus- 
tomers ;  her  sword  and  scales  sold  off;  napping 
comfortably  with  her  legs  upon  the  table. 
Here,  as  elsewhere  iu  these  parts,  the  road  was 


perfectly  alive  with  pigs  of  all  ages,  \fing  about 
in  every  direction,  fa:<i  asleep;  or  grunting  along 
in  quest  of  hidden  dainties.  1  hail  always  a 
vsneaking  kinduess  for  thcao  odd  animals,  and 
found  a  coniitant  source  of  amusement,  when  aH 
others  failed,  in  watching  their  proceedings.  Am 
we  vere  riding  along  thij  morning,  1  obtterved  a 
little  incident  between  two  youthlul  pigs,  which 
was  so  V  ery  human  as  to  be  inexpressibly  comicai 
and  grotesque  at  the  time,  though  1  dare  say,  ia 
telling,  it  is  same  enough. 

One  young  gentleman  |[a  very  delicate  porker 
witli  several  straws  sticking  about  his  nose,  be> 
tokening  recent  investigations  in  a  dunghill)  was 
walking  deliberately  on,  profoundly  thinking; 
when  suddenly  his  brother,  who  was  lying  in  a 
miry  hole,  unseen  by  him,  rose  up  immediatelT 
before  his  startled  eyes,  ghostly  with  damp  mucL 
Never  was  pig's  whole  mass  of  blood  so  turned 
He  started  back  at  least  three  feet,  gazed  for  a 
moment,  and  then  shot  off  as  hard  as  he  could 
go :  his  excessively  little  tail  vibrating  with  speed 
and  terror  like  a  distraced  pendulum.  But  be- 
fore he  had  gone  very  far,  he  began  to  reason 
with  himself  as  to  the  nature  of  this  frightful  ap- 
pearance ;  and  as  he  reasoned,  he  relaxed  hw 
sp^ed  by  gradual  degrees ;  until  at  last  be  8t<q>ped; 
and  faced  abou',  There  was  his  brother,  witk 
the  mud  upon  him,  glazing  in  the  sun,  yet  sta* 
ring  out  ot  the  very  same  hole,  perfectly  amazed 
at  his  proceedings  i  He  was  no  sooner  assured 
of  this;  and  he  assured  himself  so  carefully  that 
one  may  almost  say  he  shaded  his  eyes  with  his 
hand  to  see  the  better;  than  he  came  back  at  a 
round  trot,  pounced  upon  him,  and  summarily 
took  off  a  piece  of  his  tail,  as  a  caution  to  him 
to  be  careful  what  he  was  about  for  the  future, 
and  never  to  play  trick  s  with  his  family  any  more. 
We  found  the  steamboat  in  :he  canal,  waiting 
for  the  slow  process  of  getting  through  the  lock, 
and  went  on  board,  where  we  shortly  aflerwani 
had  a  new  kind  of  visiter  in  the  person  of  a  cer- 
tain  Kentucky  giant,  whose  name  is  Porter,  and 
who  is  of  the  moderate  height  of  seven  feet  eight 
inches  in  his  stockings. 

There  never  was  a  race  of  people  who  so 
completely  gave  the  lie  to  history  as  these  gi- 
ants, or  whom  all  the  chroniclers  have  so  cruelly 
libelled.  Instead  of  roaring  and  ravaging  about 
the  world,  constantly  catering  for  their  cannibal 
larders,  and  perpetually  going  to  market  in  an 
unlawful  manner,  they  are  the  meekest  people 
in  any  man's  acquaintance :  rather  inclining  to 
milk  and  vegetable  diet,  and  bearing  anything 
for  a  quiet  life.  So  decidedly  are  amiabil  i ty  and 
mildness  their  characteristics,  that  I  coniess  I 
look  upon  that  youth  who  distinguished  himself 
by  the  slaughter  of  these  inofiensive  persons, 
as  a  false-hearted  brigand,  who,  pretending  to 
philanthropic  motives,  was  secretly  influenced 
only  by  the  wealth  stored  up  within  their  castles, 
and  the  hope  of  plunder.  And  I  lean  the  more 
to  this  opinion  from  finding  that  even  the  histo- 
rian of  those  exploits,  with  all  his  partiality  foi 
his  hero,  is  fain  to  admit  that  the  slaughtered 
monsters  in  question  were  of  a  very  innocent, 
and  simple  turn ;  extremely  guileless  and  ready 
of  beliei ;  lending  a  credulous  ear  to  the  most 
improbable  tales;  suffering  themselves  to  be  ea- 
sily entrapped  into  pits;  and  even  (as  in  the 
welsh  giant),  with  an  excess  of  the  nospitable 
politeness  of  a  landlord,  ripping  themselves  open, 
rather  than  hint  at  the  possibuty  of  their  guests 
being  versed  in  the  vagabond  arts  of  sleight-of- 
hand  and  hocus-pocu*. 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


The  Kentucky  f^ant  was  bnt  another  illastra- 
tion  of  the  truth  of  this  position.  He  had  a 
weakness  in  the  region  of  tne  knees,  and  a  tnist- 
Ailness  in  hi.^  long  face,  which  appealed  even  to 
five  feet  nine  fur  encouragement  and  support.  He 
was  only  twenty-five  years  old,  he  said,  and  had 
gro'»rn  recently'  for  it  had  been  found  necessary 
to  make  an  addition  to  the  legs  of  his  inexpres- 
sibles. At  fifteen  he  was  a  short  boy,  and  in 
those  days  his  English  father  and  his  Irish  moth- 
er had  rather  snubbed  him,  as  being  too  small  of 
(Mature  to  sustain  the  credit  of  the  family.  He 
added  that  his  health  had  not  been  good,  though 
it  was  better  now;  but  short  people  are  not  want- 
ing who  whisper  that  he  drinks  too  hard. 

I  understand  he  drives  a  hackney-coach, 
though  how  he  does  it,  unless  he  stands  on  the 
footboard  behind,  and  lies  alon»  the  roof  upon 
his  chest,  with  his  chin  hi  the  box,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  comprehend.  He  brought  his  gun 
with  him,  as  a  curiosity.  Christened  "  The  Lit- 
tle Rifle,"  and  displayed  outside  a  shop-window, 
it  would  make  the  fortune  of  any  retail  business 
in  Holbom.  When  he  had  shown  himself,  and 
talked  a  little  while,  he  withdrew  with  this  pock- 
et instrument,  and  went  bobbing  down  the  cabin, 
among  men  of  six  feet  high  and  upward,  like  a 
lighthouse  walking  among  lampposts. 

Within  a  few  minutes  afterward  we  were  out 
of  the  canal  and  in  the  Ohio  River  again. 

The  arrangements  of  the  boat  were  like  those 
of  the  Messenger,  and  the  passengers  were  of  the 
same  order  of  people.  We  fed  at  the  same  times, 
<m  the  same  kind  of  viands,  in  the  same  dull 
manner,  and  with  the  same  observances.  The 
company  appeared  to  be  oppressed  by  the  same 
tremendous  concealments,  and  had  as  little  car 
pacity  of  enjoyment  or  light-heartedness.  I  nev- 
er in  my  life  did  see  such  listless,  heavy  dulness 
as  brooded  over  these  meals :  the  very  recollec- 
tion of  it  weighs  me  down,  and  makes  me  for 
the  moment  wretched.  Reading  and  writing  onr 
my  knee,  in  our  little  cabin,  I  really  dreaded  the 
coming  of  the  hour  that  summoned  as  to  table ; 
and  was  as  glad  to  escape  from  it  again,  as  if  it 
had  been  a  penance  or  a  punishment.  Healthy 
cheerfulness  and  good  spirits  forming  a  part  of 
the  banquet,  I  couul  soak  my  crusts  in  the  fount- 
ain with  Le  Sage's  strolling  player,  and  revel  in 
dieir  glad  enjoyment :  but  sitting  down  with  so 
many  fellow-animals  to  ward  on  thirst  and  hun- 

?!r  as  a  business ;  to  empty,  each  creature,  his 
ahoo's  trough  as  quickly  as  he  can,  and  then 
•link  sullenly  away ;  to  have  these  social  sacra- 
ments shipped  of  everything  bnt  the  mere  greedy 
satisfaction  of  the  natural  cravings,  goes  so 
against  the  grain  with  me,  that  I  seriously  be- 
lieve the  recollection  of  these  funeral  feasts  will 
l)e  a  waking  nightmare  to  me  all  my  life. 

There  was  some  relief  in  this  boat,  too,  which 
there  had  not  been  in  the  other,  for  the  captain 
(a  blunt,  good-natured  fellow)  had  his  handsome 
wife  with  him,  who  was  disposed  to  be  lively  and 
agreeable,  as  were  a  few  other  lady-passengers 
who  had  their  seats  about  ns  at  the  same  end 
of  the  table.  But  nothing  could  have  made  head 
against  the  depressing  influence  of  the  general 
bod  .  There  was  a  magnetism  of  dulness  in 
them  which  would  have  beaten  down  the  most 
facetious  companion  that  the  earth  ever  knew. 
A  jest  would  have  been  a  crime,  and  a  smile 
would  have  faded  into  a  grinning  norror.  Such 
deadly,  leaden  people ;  such  systematic,  plod- 
ding, weary,  in.supportable  heaviness;  such  a 
mass  of  indigestion  in  respect  of  all  that  was  ge- 


nial, jovial,  frank,  social,  or  hearty,  never,  sure, 
wait  brought  together  elsewhere  since  the  world 
began. 

Nor  was  the  scenery,  as  we  approached  the 
junction  of  the  Ohio  and  MissisNinpi  Rivers,  at 
all  inspiriting  in  its  influence.  The  trees  were 
stunted  in  their  growth ;  the  banks  were  low  and 
flat;  the  settlements  and  log  cabins  fewer  in 
number;  their  inhabitants  more  wan  and  wretch- 
ed than  any  we  had  encountered  yet.  No  songs 
of  birds  were  in  the  air,  no  pleasant  scents,  no 
moving  lights  and  shadows  from  swift  {Missing 
clouds.  Hour  after  hour,  the  changeless  glare 
of  the  hot,  unwinking  sky,  shone  upon  the  same 
monotonous  objects.  Hour  after  hour,  the  river 
rolled  along,  as  wearily  and  slowly  as  the  time 
itself. 

At  length,  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day,  we 
arrived  at  a  spot  so  much  more  desolate  than  any 
we  had  yet  beheld,  that  the  forlomest  places  we 
had  passed,  were,  in  comparison  with  it,  full  of 
interest.  At  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers,  oa 
ground  so  flat,  and  low,  and  marshy,  that  at  cer- 
tain seasons  of  the  year  it  is  inundated  to  the 
house-tops,  lies  a  breeding-place  of  fever,  ague, 
and  death ;  vaunted  in  England  as  a  mine  of  gold- 
en hope,  and  speculated  in,  on  the  faith  of  mon- 
strous representations,  to  many  people's  ruin. 
A  dismal  swamp,  on  which  the  half-built  hous- 
es rot  away :  cleared  here  and  there  for  the  space 
of  a  few  yards,  and  teeming  then  with  rank,  un- 
wholesome vegetation,  in  whose  baleful  shade 
the  wretched  wanderers  who  are  tempted  hither, 
droop,  and  die,  and  lay  their  bones ;  the  hateful 
Mississippi  circling  and  eddying  before  it,  and 
turning  on  upon  its  southern  course,  a  slimy  mon- 
ster hideous  to  behold ;  a  hotbed  of  disease,  an 
ugly  sepulchre,  a  grave  uncheered  by  any  gleam 
of  promise:  a  place  without  one  single  quality 
in  earth,  or  air,  or  water,  to  commend  it :  suck 
is  this  dismal  Cidro. 

But  what  words  shall  describe  the  Mississip- 
li,  great  father  of  rivers,  who  fpraise  be  to 
leaven)  has  no  young  children  like  him  I  An 
enormous  ditch,  sometimes  two  or  three  miles 
wide,  running  liquid  mud  six  miles  an  hour;  its 
strong  and  frothy  current  chokfd  and  obstructed 
everywhere  by  huge  logs  and  whole  forest  trees ; 
now  twining  themselves  together  in  great  rails, 
from  the  interstices  of  which  a  sedgy,  lazy  foam 
works  up,  to  float  upon  the  water's  top ;  now  roll- 
ing past  like  monstrous  bodies,  their  tangled  roots 
showing  like  matted  hair;  now  glancing  singly 
by  like  giant  leeches,  and  now  writhing  round  and 
round  in  the  vortex  of  some  small  whirlpool  like 
wounded  snakes.  The  banks  low,  tne  trees 
dwarfish,  the  marshes  swarming  with  fro§[8,  the 
wretched  cabins,  few  and  far  apart,  their  in- 
mates hollow-cheeked  and  pale,  the  weather  verr 
hot,  moschetoes  penetrating  into  every  crack 
and  crevice  of  the  boat,  mud  and  slime  on  eve- 
rything :  nothing  pleasant  in  its  aspect  but  the 
harmless  Iightnu|;  which  flickers  eveiy  night 
upon  the  dark  horizon. 

For  two  days  we  toiled  up  this  foul  stream, 
striking  constantly  against  the  floating  timber, 
or  stopping  to  avoid  those  more  dangerous  ob- 
tacles,  the  snags,  or  sawyers,  which  are  the  hid- 
den trunks  of  trees  that  have  their  roots  below 
the  tide.  When  the  nights  are  very  dark,  the 
look-out,  stationed  in  the  head  of  the  boat,  knows 
by  the  ripple  of  the  water  if  any  great  impedi- 
ment be  near  at  hand,  and  rings  a  bell  besido 
him,  which  is  the  signal  for  the  engine  to  be 
stopped;  but  always  in  the  night  this  bell  has 


g: 


NdTES  ON  AMERICA. 


rtr,$nte. 
the  world 

tched  the 
[liveni,  at 
rees  were 

e  low  and 
fewer  in 

li  wretch- 
No  songs 
icentH,  no 
tt  passing 
lesui  glare 
the  same 
the  river 
I  the  time 

d  day,  we 
than  any 
places  we 
it,  full  of 
rivers,  o* 
hat  at  cer- 
ted  to  the 
ver,  ague, 
ne  of  gold- 
h  oi  mon- 
^le's  ruin. 
)uilt  houB- 
r  the  space 
I  r»nk,  un- 
eful  shade 
)ted  hither, 
the  hateful 
ore  it,  and 
slimy  mon- 
disease,  an 
^  any  gleam 
gle  quality 
id  it:  Bucn 

Mississip- 
■aise  be  to 

him  I  An 
three  miles 
in  hour;  its 
I  obstructed 
forest  trees ; 

great  rafts, 
r,  lazy  foam 
);  now  roll- 
angled  roots 
kcing  singly 
ig  round  and 
liirlpool  like 
r,  tne  trees 
th  frogs,  the 
rt,  their  in- 
reather  very 
svery  crack 
ime  on  eve- 
pcct  but  the 
every  night 

foul  stream, 
ting  timber, 
jigerous  ob- 
are  the  hid- 
roots  below 
ly  dark,  the 
boat,  knows 
reat  impedi- 
i  bell  beside 
■ngine  to  be 
this  bell  has 


^rork  to  do,  and  after  erery  ring  there  comes  a 
Mow,  wUcn  renders  it  no  easy  matter  to  remain 
in  bed. 

The  decline  of  day  here  was  very  gorgeoos  ; 
tinging  the  firmament  deeply  with  red  and  gold, 
up  to  the  very  keystone  ol  the  arch  above  us. 
As  the  sun  went  down  behind  the  bank,  the 
•lightest  blades  of  gra.ss  upon  it  seemed  to  be- 
come as  distinctly  visible  as  the  arteries  in  the 
skeleton  of  a  leal"^;  and  when,  as  it  slowly  sank, 
the  red  and  golden  bars  upon  the  water  grew 
dimmer  and  dimmer  yet,  as  if  they  were  sink- 
ing, too ;  and  all  the  glowing  colours  of  depart- 
ing day  paled  inch  by  inch  before  the  sombre 
night ;  the  scene  became  a  thousand  times  more 
lonesome  and  more  dreary  than  before,  and  all 
its  influences  darkened  with  the  sky. 

We  drank  the  muddy  water  of  this  river  while 
we  were  upon  it.  It  is  considered  wholesome  by 
the  natives,  and  is  something  more  opaque  than 
gruel.  I  have  seen  water  like  it  at  the  filter- 
shops,  but  nowhere  else. 

On  the  fourth  night  after  leaving  Louisville, 
vre  reached  St.  Louis,  and  here  I  witnessed  the 
conclusion  of  an  incident,  trilling  enough  in  it- 
self, but  very  pleasant  to  see,  which  had  inter- 
ested me  during  the  whole  journey. 
;  There  was  a  little  woman  on  board,  with  a 
little  baby,  and  both  little  woman  and  little  child 
'were  cheerful,  good-looking,  bright-eyed,  and 
fair  to  see.  The  little  woman  had  been  passing 
a  long  time  with  her  sick  mother  in  New- York, 
and  had  left  iier  home  in  St.  Louis,  in  that  condi- 
tion in  which  ladies  who  truly  love  their  lords 
desire  to  be.  The  baby  was  bom  in  her  moth- 
er's house ;  and  she  had  not  seen  her  husband 
(to  whom  she  was  now  returning)  for  twelve 
months,  havini;  left  him  a  month  or  two  after 
their  marriage. 

Well,  to  be  sure  there  never  was  a  little  wom- 
an so  full  of  hope,  and  tenderness,  and  love,  and 
anxiety,  as  this  little  woman  was :  and  all  day 
long  she  wondered  whether  *'  He"  would  be  at 
the  wharf;  and  whether  "  He"  had  got  her  leN 
ter ;  and  whether,  if  she  sent  the  baby  ashore  by 
somebody  else,  "  He"  would  know  it,  meeting 
it  in  the  street :  which,  seeing  that  he  had  never 
«et  eyes  upon  it  in  his  life,  was  not  very  likely 
in  the  abstract,  but  was  probable  enough  to  the 
young  mother.  She  was  sach  an  artless  little 
creature ;  and  was  in  such  a  sunny,  beaming, 
hopeful  state;  and  let  out  all  this  matter  clinging 
close  about  her  heart,  so  freely ;  that  all  the  oth- 
«r  lady  passengers  entered  into  the  spirit  of  it  as 
much  as  she;  and  the  captain  (who  heard  all 
About  it  from  his  wife),  was  wondrous  sly,  I 
promise  you :  inquiring,  every  time  we  met  at 
table,  as  in  forgetfulness,  whether  she  expected 
anybody  to  meet  her  at  St.  Louis,  and  whether 
she  would  want  to  go  ashore  the  night  we  reach- 
«d  it  (but  he  supposed  she  wouldn't),  and  cutting 
many  other  dry  jokes  of  that  nature.  There  was 
one  little  weazen,  dried-apple-faced  old  woman, 
■who  took  occasion  to  douut  the  constancy  of  hus- 
bands in  such  circumstances  of  bereavement ; 
and  there  was  another  lady  (with  a  lap-dog)  old 
enough  to  moralize  on  the  lighmess  of  human 
affections,  and  yet  not  so  old  that  she  could  help 
nursing  the  baby  now  and  then,  or  laughing  with 
the  rest,  when  the  little  woman  called  it  by  its 
father's  name,  and  asked  it  all  manner  of  fantas- 
tic questions  concerning  him  in  the  joy  of  her 
heart. 

It  was  something  of  a  blow  to  the  little  wom- 
an, that  when  we  were  within  twenty  miles  of 


our  destination,  it  became  '-learly  wnii— ij  to 
put  this  baby  to  bed.  But  »nt:  g«ii  ^vet  it  with 
the  same  good-humour;  tied  a  iMiitorrchief 
round  her  head ;  and  cain^iwit  iMwIhi  litile  gnl' 
lery  witli  the  re.it.  The^  sach  an  osacle  as  she 
became  in  reference  to  \he  huiMtmm !  aad  such 
facetiousness  as  wa.s  .^pkaytM  yr  tine  married 
ladies!  and  such  symnMihTJUfi  «««.s)»own  by  the 
single  ones!  and  su( '  pmmki  of  lauxrtiter  as  the 
little  woman  hersell  i^vmmi  wou^  lust  a.*i  soon 
have  cried)  greeted  ever*  jipst  with  ! 

At  last,  there  were  cisb!  Inglits  of  St.  Louis,  and 
here  was  the  wharf  and  thosae  were  the  steps : 
and  the  little  womii.i,coverinR  her  face  with  ner 
iiands,  and  laughing;  (or  ^eenaing  to  laugh)  more 
than  ever,  ran  iotc  tier  own  cabin,  and  shut  hep> 
self  up.  I  have  nu  doubt  that  in  the  charming 
inconsistency  of  such  excitement,  she  stopped 
her  ears,  lest  she  should  hear  "  Him"  asking  for 
her :  but  I  did  not  see  her  do  it. 

Then,  a  great  crowd  of  people  rushed  on 
board,  though  the  boat  was  not  yet  made  fast, 
but  was  wandering  about  among  the  other  boats 
to  find  a  landing-place:  and  everybody  looked 
for  the  husband:  and  nobody  saw  him:  when, 
in  the  midst  of  all — Heaven  knows  how  she 
ever  got  there — there  was  the  little  woman  cling- 
ing with  both  arms  tight  round  the  necl  of  a  fine, 
good-looking,  sturdy  young  fellow !  .■  ad,  in  a 
moment  afterward,  there  she  was  again,  actual* 
ly  clapping  her  little  hands  for  joy,  as  she  drag- 
ged  hira  through  the  small  door  oi  her  small  caE* 
in,  to  look  at  the  baby  as  he  lay  asleep ! 

We  went  to  a  large  hotel,  called  the  Planter's 
House :  built  like  an  English  hospital,  with  long 
passages  and  bare  walls,  and  sky-lights  above 
the  room-doors  for  the  free  circulation  of  air. 
There  were  a  great  many  boarders  in  it ;  and  as 
many  lights  sparkled  ana  glistened  from  the  win- 
dows down  into  the  street  below,  when  we  drove 
up,  as  if  it  had  been  illuminated  on  some  occap 
sion  of  rejoicing.  It  is  an  excellent  house,  and 
the  proprietors  have  most  bountiful  notions  of 
providing  the  creature  comforts.  Dining  alone 
with  my  wife  in  our  own  room  one  day,  I  count- 
ed  fourteen  dishes  on  the  table  at  once. 

In  the  old  French  portion  of  the  town,  the 
thoroughfares  are  narrow  and  crooked,  and  some 
of  the  nouses  are  very  quaint  and  pictnresqnei 
being  built  of  wood,  with  tumble-down  galleries 
before  the  windows,  approachable  by  stairs,  or 
ratherladders,  from  the  street.  There  are  queer 
little  barbers'  shops  and  drinking-houses  too,  in 
this  quarter:  and  abundance  of  crazy  ohl  tene- 
ments with  blinking  casements,  ic).  as  may  be 
seen  in  Flanders.  Someof  the>''  f«tient habita- 
tions, with  high  garret  gable-windows  perking 
into  the  roofs,  nave  a  kind  of  French  shrug  abont 
them ;  and  being  lop-sided  with  age,  appear  to 
hold  their  heads  askew,  be  :>des,  as  if  they  were 
grimacing  in  astonishment  at  the  American  Im- 
provements. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  these  consist 
of  wharfs  and  warehouses,  and  new  buildings  in 
all  directions ;  and  of  a  great  many  vast  plans 
which  are  still "  progressing."  Already,  howev- 
er, some  very  good  houses,  broad  streets,  and 
marble-fronted  shops,  have  gone  so  far  ahead  as 
to  be  in  a  state  of  completion;  and  the  town  bids 
fair  in  a  few  years  to  improve  considerably: 
though  it  is  not  likely  ever  to  vie,  in  point  of  ele- 
gance or  beauty,  with  Cincinnati. 

The  Roman  Catholic  religion,  introduced  here 
by  the  earlr  French  settlers,  prevails  extensive^ 


66 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


ly.  Among  the  public  institutions  are  a  Jesuit 
college;  a  convent  lor  "  the  Ladies  of  the  bar 
cred  Heart ;"  and  a  large  chapel  attached  to  the 
college,  which  was  in  course  of  erection  at  the 
time  of  my  visit,  and  was  intended  to  be  conse- 
crated on  the  second  of  December  in  the  present 
year.  The  architect  of  this  building  is  one  of 
the  reverend  fathers  of  the  school,  and  the  works 
proceed  under  his  sole  direction.  The  organ 
will  be  sent  from  Belgium, 

In  addition  to  these  establishments,  there  is  a 
Roman  Catholic  cathedral,  dedicated  to  Saint 
Francis  Xavier;  and  an  hospital,  founded  by  the 
munificence  of  a  deceased  resident,  who  was  a 
member  of  that  church.  It  also  sends  mission- 
aries from  hence  among  the  Indian  tribes. 

The  Unitarian  church  is  represented  in  this 
remote  place,  as  in  most  other  parts  of  America, 
by  a  gentleman  of  great  worth  and  excellence. 
The  poor  have  good  reason  to  remember  and 
bless  it ;  for  it  belriends  them,  and  aids  the  cause 
of  rational  education,  without  any  sectarian  or 
selfish  views.  It  is  liberal  in  all  its  actions ;  of 
kind  construction ;  and  of  wide  benevolence. 

There  are  three  free-schools  already  erected, 
and  in  full  operation  in  this  city.  A  fourth  is 
building,  and  will  soon  be  opened. 

No  man  ever  admits  the  unhealthiness  of  the 
place  he  dwells  in  (unless  he  is  going  away  from 
It),  and  I  shall  therefore,  I  have  no  doubt,  be  at 
issue  with  the  inhabitants  of  Saint  Louis,  in 
questioning  the  perfect  salubrity  of  its  climate, 
and  in  hinting  that  I  think  it  must  rather  dispose 
to  fever  in  the  summer  and  autumnal  seasons. 
Just  adding,  that  it  is  veiy  hot,  lies  among  great 
rivers,  and  has  vast  tracts  of  undrained  swampy 
land  around  it,  I  leave  the  reader  to  form  his 
own  opinion. 

As  1  had  a  great  desire  to  see  a  Prairie  before 
turning  back  from  the  farthest  point  of  my  wan- 
derings; and,  as  some  gentlemen  of  the  town 
had,  m  their  hospitable  consideration,  an  equal 
desire  to  gratify  me ;  a  day  was  fixed  before  my 
departure,  for  an  expedition  to  the  Looking- 
Glass  Prairie,  which  is  within  thirty  miles  of  the 
town.  Deeming  it  possible  that  my  readers  may 
not  object  to  know  what  kind  of  thing  such  a 
gipsy  party  may  be  at  that  distance  from  home, 
and  among  what  sort  of  objects  it  moves,  I  will 
describe  the  jaunt  in  another  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XIIL 

AJACNTTOTHE  LOOKINO-OLASB  PRAIRIE  AND  BACK. 

I  MAY  premise  that  the  word  Prairie  is  vari- 
ously pronounced  paraa(r,parearer,  and  paroarer. 
The  latter  mode  of  pronunciation  is  perhaps  the 
most  in  favour. 

We  were  fourteen  in  all,  and  all  young  men : 
indeed  it  is  a  singular  though  very  natural  fea- 
ture in  the  society  of  these  distant  settlements, 
that  it  is  mainly  composed  of  adventurous  per- 
sons in  the  prime  of  life,  and  has  very  few  gray 
heads  among  it.  There  were  no  ladies :  the  trip 
being  a  fatiguing  one;  and  we  were  to  start  at 
five  o'clock  in  the  moming,  punctually. 

I  was  called  at  four,  that  I  might  be  certain  of 
keeping  nobody  waiting;  and  having  got  some 
bread  and  milk  for  brealcfast,  threw  up  the  win- 
dow and  looked  down  into  the  street,  expecting  to 
see  tlie  wiiole  party  busily  astir,  and  pirat  piep- 
arations  going  on  below.  But  as  eveiyihing  was 
very  quiet,  and  the  street  presented  that  hopeless 


aspect  with  which  five  o'ck>ck  in  the  morning  i» 
familiar  elsewhere,  I  deemed  it  as  well  io  go  t» 
bed  again,  and  went  accordingly. 

I  awoke  again  at  seven  o'clock,  and  by  that 
time  the  party  had  assembled,  and  were  gather- 
ed round,  one  light  carriage,  with  a  very  stout 
axletree;  one  something  on  wheels  like  an  am- 
ateur carrier's  cart ;  one  double  phaeton  of  great 
antiquity  and  unearthly  construction;  one  gig 
with  a  great  hole  in  its  back  and  a  broken  head;, 
and  one  rider  on  horseback  who  was  to  go  on 
before.  I  got  into  the  first  coach  with  three  com- 
panions; the  rest  bestowed  themselves  in  the 
other  vehicles ;  two  large  baskets  were  made  fast 
to  the  lightest ;  two  large  stone  jars  in  wicker  ca- 
ses, technically  known  as  demi-johns,  were  con- 
signed to  the  "  least  rowdy"  of  the  parly  for  safe 
keeping;  and  the  procession  moved  otf  to  the 
ferry-boat,  in  which  it  was  to  cross  the  river 
bodily,  men,  horses,  carriages,  and  all,  as  ths 
manner  in  these  parts  is. 

We  got  over  the  river  in  due  course,  and  naur 
tered  again  before  a  little  wooden  box  on  wheels, 
hove  down,  ail-aslant,  in  a  morass,  with  "  meb- 
CHANT  tailor"  painted  in  very  large  letters  orer 
the  door.  Having  settled  the  order  of  proceed- 
ing, and  the  road  to  be  taken,  we  started  off  onc« 
more,  and  b^an  to  make  our  way  throngh  an 
ill-favotued  Black  Follow,  called,  less  express- 
ively, the  American  Bottom. 

"The  previous  day  had  been — not  to  say  hot, 
for  the  term  is  weak  and  lukewarm  in  its  power 
of  conveying  an  idea  of  the  temperature.  The 
town  had  been  on  fire ;  in  a  blaze.  But  at  night 
it  had  come  on  to  rain  in  torrents,  and  all  night 
long  it  had  rained  without  cessation.  We  had 
a  pair  of  very  strong  horses,  but  travelled  at  the 
rate  of  little  more  than  a  couple  of  miles  an  hour. 
through  one  unbroken  slough  of  black  mud  ana 
water.  It  had  no  variety  but  in  depth.  Now  it 
was  only  half  over  the  wheels,  now  it  hid  the 
axletree,  and  now  die  coach  sank  down  in  it  al- 
most to  the  windows.  The  air  resounded  in  all  di- 
rections with  the  loud  chirping  of  the  frogs,  who, 
with  the  nigs  (a  coarse,  ugly  breed,  as  unwhole- 
some looking  as  though  they  were  the  spontane- 
ous growth  of  the  country),  had  the  whole  scene- 
to  themselves.  Here  and  there  we  passed  a  log- 
hut;  but  the  wretched  cabins  were  wide  apart 
and  thinly  scattered,  for,  t.'iough  the  soil  is  very 
rich  in  this  place,  few  people  can  exist  in  such  a 
deadly  atmosphere.  On  either  side  of  the  track, 
if  it  deserved  the  name,  was  the  thick  "  bush ;" 
and  everywhere  was  stagnant,  slimy,  rotten,  fil- 
thy water. 

As  it  is  the  custom  in  these  parts  to  give  a 
horse  a  gallon  or  so  of  cold  water  whenever  he  is 
in  a  foam  with  heat,  we  halted  for  that  purpose, 
at  a  log-inn  in  the  wood,  far  removed  from  any 
other  residence.  It  consisted  of  one  room,  bare- 
roofed  and  bare-walled,  of  course,  with  a  lofl 
above.  The  ministering  priest  was  a  swarthy 
young  savage,  in  a  shirt  of  cotton  print  like  bca- 
fumiture,  and  a  pair  of  ragged  trousers.  There 
were  a  couple  of^ young  boys,  too,  nearly  naked, 
lying  idly  by  the  well ;  and  they,  and  he,  and  Ike 
traveller  at  the  inn,  turned  out  to  look  at  us. 

The  traveller  was  an  old  man  with  a  gray, 
grizzly  beard  1  wo  inches  long,  a  shaggy  mustache 
of  the  same  h  le,  and  enormous  eyebrows,  which 
almost  obscured  his  lazy,  semi-dmnken  glance, 
as  he  stood  rejjarding  us  with  folded  arms,  pois 
ing  himself  alterantcly  upon  his  toes  and  heels. 
On  being  addressed  by  one  of  the  party,  he  drew 
neaier,  and  said,  rubbing  his  chin ''which  scraped 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


•7 


■under  his  homy  hand  like  fresh  CTavel  beneath 
a  nailed  shoe),  that  he  was  from  Delaware,  and 
had  lately  bought  a  farm  "  down  there,"  pointing 
'jito  one  of  the  marshes  where  the  stunted  trees 
were  thickest.  He  was  "  going,"  he  added,  to 
St.  Louis,  to  fetch  his  family,  whom  he  had  left 
behind ;  but  he  seemed  in  no  great  hurry  to  bring 
on  these  enciunbrances,  lor  when  we  moved 
tway,  he  loitered  back  into  the  cabin,  and  was 
plainly  bent  on  stopping  there  so  long  as  his  mon- 
ey lasted.  He  was  a  great  politician,  of  course, 
and  explained  his  opinions  at  some  length  to  one 
of  our  company ;  but  I  only  remember  that  he 
concluded  with  two  sentiments,  one  of  which 
was,  Somebody  forever  1  and  the  other.  Blast  ev- 
erybody else  I  which  is  by  no  means  a  bad  ab- 
stract of  the  general  creed  in  these  matters. 

When  the  horses  were  swollen  out  to  about 
twice  their  natural  dimensions  (there  seems  to 
be  an  idea  here  that  this  kind  of  inflation  im- 

S roves  their  going]),  we  went  forward  again, 
irough  mud  and  mire,  and  damp,  and  festering 
hea(,  and  brake  and  bush,  attended  always  by  the 
music  of  the  frogs  and  pigs,  until  nearly  noon, 
when  we  halted  at  a  place  called  Belleville. 

Belleville  was  a  small  collection  of  wooden 
houses,  huddled  together  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
bush  and  swamp.  Many  of  them  had  singular- 
ly bright  doors  of  read  and  yellow ;  for  the  place 
had  wen  lately  visited  by  a  travelling  pamter, 
"  who  got  alon^,"  as  I  was  told,  "  by  eating  his 
way."  The  cnminal  court  was  sitting,  and  was 
at  that  moment  trying  some  criminals  for  horse- 
stealing, with  whom  it  would  most  likely  go 
hard ;  for  live-stock  of  all  kinds  being  necessari- 
ly very  much  expo.sed  in  the  woods,  is  held  by 
tne  commimity  in  rather  higher  value  than  hu- 
man life;  and  for  this  reason  juries  generally 
make  a  point  of  finding  all  men  indicted  for  cat- 
tle-stealing guilty,  whether  or  no. 

The  horses  belongin^^  to  the  bar,  the  judge, 
and  witnesses,  were  tied  to  temporary  racks  set 
up  roughly  in  the  road,  by  whicti  is  to  be  under- 
stood a  forest  path,  nearly  knee-deep  in  mud  and 
slime. 

There  was  a  hotel  in  this  place  which,  like 
all  hotels  in  America,  had  its  large  dining-room 
for  the  public  table.  It  was  an  odd,  shambling, 
low-roofed  outhouse,  half  cowshed  and  half  kitch- 
en, with  a  coarse  brown  canvass  table-cloth,  and 
tin  sconces  stuck  a^inst  the  walls,  to  hold  can- 
dles at  supper-time.  The  horseman  had  gone 
forward  to  have  coffee  and  som^  entables  prepa- 
red, and  they  this  were  by  time  nearly  ready.  He 
had  ordered  "  wheat-bread  and  chicken  fixings," 
in  preference  to  "  corn-bread  and  common  do- 
ings." The  latter  kind  of  refection  includes  only 
pork  and  bacon.  The  former  comprehends  broil- 
ed  ham,  sausages,  veal-cutlets,  steaks,  and  such 
other  viands  of  that  nature  as  may  be  supposed, 
by  a  tolerably  wide  poetical  construct! ..n,  to  "fix" 
a  chicken  comfortalijyin  the  digestive  organs  of 
any  lady  or  gentleman. 

On  one  of  the  door-posts  at  this  inn  was  a  tin 
plnte,  whereon  was  inscribed  in  characters  of 
gold  "  Doctor  Crocus ;"  and  on  a  sheet  of  paper, 
pasted  up  by  the  side  oftliis  plate,  was  a  written 
announcement  that  Dr.  Crocus  would  that  even- 
ing deliver  a  lecture  on  Phrenology  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  Belleville  public,  at  a  charge,  for  ad- 
mission, of  so  much  a  head. 

Strayinsf  np  stairs,  during  the  preparation  of 
the  chicken  fixincrs,  I  happened  to  pa.«s  the  doc- 
tor's chamber;  and  a.s  the  door  stood  wide  open, 
and  the  room  was  empty,  I  made  bold  to  peep  in. 


It  was  a  bare,  unfurnished,  comfortless  room, 
with  an  unframed  poitrait  hanging  up  at  the 
head  of  the  bed;  a  likeness,  I  take  it,  of  the  doc- 
tor, for  the  forehead  was  fully  displayed,  and 
great  stress  was  laid  by  tlie  artist  upon  its  phren- 
ological developments.  The  bed  itself  was  c(»v- 
ered  with  an  old  patchwork  counterpane.  The 
room  was  destitute  of  carpet  or  of  curtain.  There 
was  a  damp  fireplace  without  any  stove,  full  of 
wood-ashes;  a  chair,  and  a  very  small  table; 
and  on  the  last-named  piece  of  furniture  was  dis- 
played, in  grand  array,  the  doctor's  library,  con- 
sisting of  some  half  a  dozen  greasy  old  books. 

Now  it  certainly  looked  about  the  last  apart- 
ment on  the  whole  earth  out  of  which  any  man 
would  be  likely  to  get  anything  to  do  him  good. 
But  the  door,  as  I  have  said,  stood  coaxingly 
opn,  and  plainly  said,  in  conjunction  with  the 
chair,  the  portrait,  the  table,  and  the  books, 
"  Walk  in,  gentlemen,  walk  in !  Don't  be  ill, 
gentlemen,  when  you  may  be  well  in  no  time. 
Doctor  Crocus  is  here,  gentlemen,  the  celebrated 
Doctor  Crocus!  Doctor  Crocus  has  come  all 
this  way  to  cure  you,  gentlemen.  Ifyou  haven't 
heard  of  Doctor  Crocus,  it's  your  fault,  gentle- 
men, who  live  a  little  way  out  of  the  world  here, 
not  Doctor  Crocus's.  Walk  in,  gentlemen,  walk 
in!" 

In  the  passage  below,  when  I  went  down  stairs 
again,  was  Doctor  Crocus  himself.  A  crowd 
had  flocked  in  from  the  Court-hous«,  and  a  voice 
from  among  them  called  out  to  the  landlord, 
"  Colonel !  introduce  Doctor  Crocus." 

"Mr.  Dickens,"  says  the  colonel,  "Doctor 
Crocus." 

Upon  which  Doctor  Crocus,  who  is  a  talL 
fine-looking  Scotchman,  but  rather  fierce  ana 
warlike  in  appearance  for  a  professor  of  the 
peaceful  art  of  healing,  bursts  out  of  the  con- 
course with  his  right  arm  extended,  and  his  chest 
thrown  out  as  far  as  it  will  possibly  come,  and 
says, 

"  Your  countryman,  sir  I" 

Whereupon  Doctor  Crocus  and  I  shake  hands; 
and  Doctor  Crocus  lo<»ks  as  if  I  didn't  by  any 
means  realize  his  expectations,  which,  in  a  linen 
blouse,  and  a  great  straw  hat  with  a  green  rib- 
and, and  no  gloves,  and  my  face  and  nose  pro- 
fusely ornamented  with  the  stings  of  mosche- 
toes  and  the  bites  of  bugs,  it  is  veiy  likely  I  did 
not. 

"  Long  in  these  parts,  sir  ?"  says  I. 

"  Three  or  four  montns,  sir,"  says  the  doctor. 

"  Do  you  think  of  soon  retummg  to  the  old 
country,  sirl"  says  I. 

Doctor  Crocus  makes  no  verbal  answer,  but 
gives  me  an  imploring  look,  which  says  so  plain- 
ly "  Will  you  ask  me  that  again,  a  little  louder, 
ifyou  please  1"  that  I  repeat  the  question. 

'*  Think  of  soon  returning  to  the  old  countiy, 
sir !"  repeats  the  doctor. 

"  To  the  old  country,  sir,"  I  rejoin. 

Doctor  Crocus  looks  round  upon  the  crowd  to 
observe  the  eflTect  he  produces,  rubs  his  hands, 
and  s.iys  in  a  very  loud  voice, 

"  Not  yet  a  while,  sir,  not  yet.  You  won't 
catch  me  at  that  just  yet,  sir.  I  am  a  little  too 
fond  of  freedom  for  <A^.,  sir.  Ha,  ha!  It's  not 
so  easy  for  a  man  to  tear  himself  from  a  free 
country  such  as  this  is,  sir.  Ha,  ha  I  No.  no! 
Hn,  ha  I  None  of  that  till  one's  obliged  to  do  it, 
sir.    No,  no  I" 

As  Doctor  Crocus  says  these  latter  words,  he 
shnkes  his  head  knowingly,  and  laughs  again. 
Many  of  the  by-standers  shake  their  heads  in  con- 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


eett  with  the  doctor,  and  laugh  too,  and  look  at 
«ach  other  as  much  as  to  say,  "  A  pretty  bright 
and  first-rate  sort  of  chap  is  Cfrocus  r '  and  unless 
I  am  very  much  mistaken,  a  good  many  people 
went  to  tne  lecture  that  night  who  never  thought 
about  phrenology,  or  about  Doctor  Crocus  either, 
in  all  their  lives  before. 

From  Belleville,  wc  went  on  through  the  same 
desolate  kind  of  waste,  and  constantly  attended, 
without  the  Interval  of  a  moment,  by  the  same 
music,  until,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  auemoon,  we 
baited  once  more  at  a  village  called  Lebanon  to 
inflate  the  horses  again,  and  give  them  some 
com  besides,  of  which  they  stood  much  in  need. 
Fending  this  ceremony,  I  walked  into  the  village, 
where  I  met  a  full-sized  dwelling-house  coming 
down-hill  at  a  round  trot,  drawn  by  a  score  or 
more  of  oxen. 

The  public-house  was  so  very  clean  and  good 
a  one,  that  the  managers  of  the  jaunt  resolved  to 
xetum  to  it,  and  put  up  there  for  the  night,  if  pos- 
•ible.  This  course  aecided  on,  and  the  horses 
feeing  well  refreshed,  we  again  pushed  forward, 
and  came  upon  the  prairie  at  sunset. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  say  why  or  how 
ftough  it  was  possibly  from  having  heard  and 
read  so  much  alxiut  it — but  the  elTect  on  me  was 
disappointment.  Looking  towards  the  setting 
sun,' there  lay.  stretched  out  before  my  view,  a 
Tast  expanse  of  level  ground,  unbroken,  save  by 
one  thin  line  of  irees,  which  scarcely  amounted 
to  a  scratch  upon  the  great  blank,  until  it  met  the 
glowing  sky,  wherein  it  seemed  to  dip,  mingling 
With  its  rich  colours,  and  mellowing  in  its  distant 
blue.  There  it  lay,  a  tranquil  sea  or  lake  with- 
out water,  if  such  a  simile  be  admissible,  with 
the  day  going  down  upon  it ;  a  few  birds  wheel- 
ing here  and  there:  and  solitude  and  silence 
reigning  paramount  around.  But  the  grass  was 
not  yet  high ;  there  were  bare  black  patches  on 
the  ground;  and  the  few  wild  flowers  tnat  the  eye 
could  see,  were  poor  and  scanty.  Great  as  tne 
picture  was,  its  veiy  flatness  and  extent,  which 
left  nothing  to  the  imagination,  tamed  it  down 
and  cramped  its  interest.  I  felt  little  of  that  sense 
«f  freedom  and  (exhilaration  which  a  Scottish 
heaUi  inspires,  or  even  our  English  downs  awa- 
ken. It  was  lonely  and  vrild,  but  oppressive  in 
its  barren  monotony.  I  felt  that  in  traversing 
the  prairies  I  could  never  abandon  myself  to  the 
scene,  forgetful  of  all  else,  as  I  should  do  instinct- 
ively, were  the  heather  underneath  my  feet,  or  an 
iron-bound  coast  beyond ;  but  should  often  glance 
towards  the  distant  and  frequently-receding  line 
of  the  horiaon,  and  wished  it  gained  and  passed. 
It  is  not  a  scene  to  be  foiffotten,  but  it  is  scarce- 
ly one,  I  think  (at  all  events,  as  I  saw  lt\  to  re- 
member with  much  pleasure,  or  to  covet  tne  look- 
ing-on  again,  in  after  life. 

We  encamped  near  a  solitary  log-house,  for 
the  sake  of  its  water,  and  dined  upon  the  plain. 
The  baskets  contained  roast  fowls,  buffalo's 
tongtie  (an  exquisite  dainty,  by-the-way),  ham, 
bread,  cheese,  and  butter;  (>iscnits, Champagne, 
»«herr>' ;  lemons  and  sugar  for  punch ;  nnrt  abund- 
ance of  rough  ice.  The  meal  was  delicious,  pnd 
the  entertainers  were  the  soul  of  kindness  and 
pood  humour.  I  have  often  recalled  thnt  cheer- 
nil  party  to  my  plensanl  recollection  since,  pnd 
shell  not  easily  forget,  in  junketings  nearor  home 
with  friends  of  older  date,  my  boon  companions 
on  the  prf^irie. 

Reinmin»fo  Lebanon  thnt  night,  we  lay  at 
the  little  inn  nl  which  we  had  halted  in  the  after- 
voon.    In  point  of  cleanliness  and  comfort  it 


would  have  suffered  by  no  comparison  with  ant 
village  ale-house,  of  a  homely  kind,  in  England. 

Rising  at  five  o'clock  next  morning,  I  took  a 
walk  about  the  village ;  none  of  the  houses  were 
strolling  about  to-day,  but  it  was  early  for  them 
yet,  perhaps;  and  then  amused  myself  by  loung* 
m?  m  a  kmd  of  farm-yard  behind  the  tavern,  of 
which  the  leading  features  were,  a  strange  jumble 
of  rough  sheds  for  stables ;  a  rude  colonnade,  built 
as  a  cool  place  of  summer  resort ;  a  deep  well; 
a  great  earthen  mound  for  keeping  vegetables 
in,  in  winter  time ;  and  a  pigeon-house,  whose 
little  apertures  looked,  as  they  do  in  all  pigeon< 
houses,  very  much  too  small  for  the  admission 
of  the  plump  and  swelling-breasted  birds  who 
were  strutting  about  it,  though  they  tried  to  get 
in  ever  so  hard.  That  interest  exhausted.  I  took 
a  survey  of  the  i  •  n's  two  parlours,  which  were 
decorated  with  coloured  prints  of  Washington 
and  President  Madison,  and  of  a  white-faced 
young  lady  (much  speckled  by  the  fliesj,  who 
held  up  her  gold  neck-chain  for  the  admiration 
of  the  spectator,  and  informed  all  admiring  corn* 
ers  that  she  was  "  Just  Seventeen ;"  although  I 
should  have  thought  her  older.  In  the  best  room 
were  two  oil  portraits  of  the  kit-cat  size,  repre- 
senting the  landlord  and  his  infant  son;  both 
looking  as  bold  as  lions,  and  staring  out  of  the 
canvass  with  an  intensity  that  would  have  been 
cheap  at  any  price.  They  were  painted,  I  think, 
by  the  artist  who  had  touched  up  the  Belleville 
doors  with  red  and  gold ;  for  I  seemed  to  recog- 
nise his  style  immediately. 

After  breakfast,  we  started  to  return  by  a  dif- 
ferent way  from  that  which  we  had  taken  yester- 
day, and  coming  up  at  ten  o'clock  with  an 
encampment  of  German  emigrants  carrying  their 
goods  m  carts,  who  had  made  a  rousing  fire 
which  they  were  just  quitting,  stopped  there  to 
refresh.  And  veiy  pleasant  the  fire  was;  for, 
hot  though  it  had  been  yesterday,  it  was  quite 
cold  to-day,  and  the  wind  blew  keenly.  Loom- 
ing in  the  distance,  as  we  rode  along,  was  an- 
other of  the  ancient  Indian  burial-places,  called 
The  Monks'  Mound;  in  memory  of  a  body  of 
fanatics  of  the  order  of  La  Trappe,  who  founded 
a  desolate  convent  there,  m?uiy  years  ago,  when 
there  were  no  settlers  within  a  thousand  miles, 
and  were  all  swept  off  by  the  pernicious  climate; 
in  which  lamentable  fatality,  few  rational  people 
will  suppose,  perhaps,  that  society  ezpeiieneed 
any  very  severe  deprivation. 

The  track  of  to-day  had  the  same  features  as 
the  track  of  yesterday.  There  were  the  swamp, 
the  bush,  the  perpetual  chorus  of  f^ogs,  the  rank 
unseemly  growtn,  the  unwholesome  steaming 
earth.  Here  and  there,  and  frequently  too,  we 
encountered  a  solitary  broken-down  wagon,  full 
of  some  new  settler's  goods.  It  was  a  pitiful 
sight  to  see  one  of  these  vehicles  deep  in  the 
mire ;  the  axle-tree  broken ;  a  wheel  lying  idly 
by  its  de;  the  man  gone  miles  away,  to  look 
for  rssistnnce ;  the  woman  seated  among  their 
wandering  household  gods  with  a  baby  at  her 
breast,  a  picture  of  forlorn,  dejected  patience;  the 
team  of  oxen  crouching  down  mournfully  in  the 
mud,  and  liroathing  forth  such  clouds  ol' vapour 
from  iheiv  months  and  nostrils,  that  all  the  (lamp 
mist  find  fog  around  seemed  to  have  come  direct 
fnini  then). 

In  (ine  time  we  mustered  once  again  before 
the  men  hnnt  tailor's, and havingdone  so,  crossed 
over  to  the  city  in  the  ferry-boat ;  passing,  on  the 
wny,  a  spot  called  Bloody  Island,  the  duelling 
ground  of  St.  Louis,  and  so  designated  in  honoiu 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


I  were 

>r  them 

loune- 


,  called 


•r  the  last  fatal  combat  fonght  there,  which  was 
with  pistols,  breast  to  breast.  Both  combatants 
fell  dead  upon  the  growid ;  and  possibly  some 
rational  people  may  think  of  them,  as  of  the 

gloomy  madmen  on  the  Monks'  Mound,  that 
ley  were  no  great  loss  to  the  community. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


BSTCRN 
FROM 


TO  CINCINNATI. 
THAT  CITT  TO 


A    STAQE-COACB    RIDB 
COLDBIBUS,   ANDTHENCK 


TO    SANDUSKT.       80,    BT    LAKE    ERIE,    TO    THE 
FALLS  OF  NIAOARA. 

As  I  had  a  desire  to  travel  through  the  interior 
of  the  state  of  Ohio,  and  to  "  strike  the  lakes,"  as 
the  phrase  is,  at  a  small  town  called  Sandusky, 
to  wnich  that  route  would  conduct  us  on  our  way 
to  Niagara,  we  had  to  return  from  St.  Louis  by 
the  way  we  had  come,  and  to  retrace  our  former 
track  as  far  as  Cincinnati. 

The  day  on  which  we  were  to  take  leave  of 
St.  Louis  being  very  fine ;  and  the  steamboat, 
which  was  to  nave  started  I  don't  know  how 
early  in  the  morning,  postponing,  for  the  third  or 
fourth  time,  her  departure  until  the  afternoon ; 
we  rode  forward  to  an  old  French  village  on  the 
river,  called  properly  Carondelet,  and  nicknamed 
Vide  Poche,  and  an'anged  that  the  packet  should 
call  for  us  there. 

The  place  consisted  of  a  few  poor  cottages, 
and  two  or  three  public-houses;  the  state  of 
whose  larders  certainly  seemed  to  justify  the 
second  designation  of  the  village,  for  there  was 
nothing  to  eat  in  any  of  them.  At  length,  how- 
ever, by  going  back  some  half  mile  or  so,  we 
found  a  solitary  house  where  ham  and  coffee 
were  procurable ;  and  there  we  tarried  to  await 
the  advent  of  the  boat,  which  would  come  in- 
sight from  the  green  beiore  the  door,  a  long  way 
of. 

It  was  a  neat,  unpretending  village  tavern, 
and  we  took  our  repast  in  a  quaint  little  room 
with  a  bed  in  it,  decorated  with  some  old  oil 
paintings,  which  in  their  time  had  probably  done 
duty  in  a  Catholic  chapel  or  monastery.  The 
fare  was  very  good,  and  served  with  great  clean- 
liness. The  house  was  kept  bv  a  characteristic 
old  couple,  with  whom  we  had  a  long  talk,  and 
who  were  perhaps  a  very  good  sample  of  that 
Idnd  of  people  in  the  West 

The  landlord  was  a  dry,  tough,  hard-faced  old 
fellow  (not  so  very  old  either,  for  he  was  but  just 
turned  sixty,  I  should  think),  who  had  been  out 
with  the  militia  in  the  last  war  with  Elngland, 
and  had  seen  all  kinds  of  service— except  a  bat- 
tle; and  he  had  been  very  near  seeing  that,  he 
added ;  very  near.  He  had  all  his  life  been  rest- 
less and  locomotive,  with  an  irresistible  desire 
of  change;  and  was  still  the  son  of  his  old  self; 
for  if  he  had  nothing  to  keep  him  at  home,  he 
said  (slightly  jerking  his  hat  and  his  thumb  to- 
wards the  window  of  the  room  in  which  the  old 
lady  sat,  as  we  stood  talking  in  front  of  the 
house)  he  would  clean  up  his  musket,  and  be  off 
to  Texas  to-morrow  morning.  He  was  one  of 
the  very  many  descendants  of  Cain  proper  to 
this  continent,  who  seemed  destined  from  their 
birth  to  serve  as  pioneers  in  the  great  human 
army ;  who  gladly  go  on  from  year  to  year  ex- 
tending its  outposst,  and  leaving  home  after 
home  behind  them  ;  and  die  at  last,  utterly  re- 
gardless of  their  graves  being  left  thousands  of 
miles  behind,  by  the  wandering  generation  who 
succeed. 


His  wife  was  a  domesticated,  kind-hearted  oM 
soul,  who  had  come  with  him  "  from  the  QVMR 
city  of  the  world."  which,  it  seemed,  was  Phila- 
delphia ;  but  had  no  love  for  this  Western  couo- 
try,  and  indeed  had  little  reason  to  bear  it  any; 
having  seen  her  children,  one  by  one^  die  here  oC 
fever  in  the  full  prime  and  beauty  of^  their  youth. 
Her  heart  was  sore,  she  said,  to  think  of  them ; 
and  to  talk  on  this  theme,  even  to  strangers,  ia 
that  blighted  place,  so  far  fh>m  her  old  home, 
eased  it  somewhat,  and  became  a  melancholy 
pleasure. 

The  boat  appearing  towards  evening,  we  bade 
adieu  to  the  poor  old  lady  and  her  vagrant 
spouse,  and  makirg  for  the  nearest  landing-j^ace, 
were  soon  on  hoirl  The  Messenger  agam,  in 


our  old  cabin,  and  steaming  down  the  Mini*. 
sippi. 

If  the  coming  up  this  river,  slowly  makin|r 
head  against  the  stream,  be  an  irksome  journey, 
the  shooting  down  it  with  the  turbid  current  u 
almost  worse ;  for  then  the  boat,  proceeding  at 
the  rate  of  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  an  hour,  has 
to  force  its  passa^  through  a  labyrinth  of  floaU 
ing  logs,  wnich,  m  the  dark,  it  is  often  impossi- 
ble to  see  before-hand  or  avoid.    All  that  nigh^ 
the  bell  was  never  eilent  for  five  minutes  at  a 
time;  and  after  every  ring  the  vessel  reeled 
again,  sometimes  beneath  a  single  blow,  some<- 
times  beneath  a  dozen  dealt  in  quick  succession, 
the  lightest  of  which  seemed  more  than  enough 
to  beat  in  her  frail  keel,  as  though  it  had  been 
pie-crust.    Looking  down  upon  the  filthy  river 
after  dark,  it  seemed  to  be  alive  with  monsters, 
as  these  black  masses  rolled  upon  the  surface,  or 
came  starting  up  again,  head  first,  when  the 
boat,  in  ploughmg  her  way  among  a  shoal  of 
such  obstructions,  drove  a  few  among  them  for 
I  the  moment  under  water.   Sometimes,  the  engine 
stopped  during  a  long  interval,  and  then  before 
her  and  behind,  and  gathering  close  about  her  on 
all  sides,  were  so  manv  of  these  ill  favoured  ob- 
stacles that  she  was  fairly  hemm'  i  in ;  the  centre 
of  a  floating  island ;  and  w*"    constrained  t» 
pause  until  they  parted  somewhere,   as  -'.ark 
clouds  will  do  before  the  wind,  and  opened  by 
degrees  a  channel  out. 

In  good  time  next  morning,  however,  we  came 
again  in  sight  of  the  detestable  morass  calleil 
Cairo;  and  stopping  there  to  take  in  wood,  lajr 
alongside  a  ba-^je,  whose  starting  timben  scarce- 
ly held  together.  It  was  moored  to  the  bank,  and 
on  its  side  was  painted,  "Cofiee  House;"  thaft 
being,  I  suppose,  the  floating  paradise  to  whiok 
the  people  fly  for  shelter  when  they  lose  their 
houses  for  a  month  or  two  beneath  the  hideoue 
waters  of  the  Mississippi.  But  looking  south- 
ward fVom  this  point,  we  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  that  intolerable  river  dra^ng  its  slimy 
length  and  ugly  freight  abruptly  on  towards  New 
Orleans ;  and  passing  a  yellow  line  which  stretch- 
ed across  the  current,  were  again  upon  the  clear 
Ohio,  never,  I  trust,  to  see  the  Mississippi  more, 
saving  in  troubled  dreams  and  nightmares.  I.>eav- 
ing  it  for  the  company  of  its  sparkling  neigh- 
bour, was  like  the  transition  from  pain  to  ease, 
or  the  awakening  fVom  a  horrible  vision  to  cheer- 
ful realities. 

We  arrived  at  Louisville  on  the  fourth  night, 
and  gladly  availed  ourselves  of  its  excellent 
hotel.  Next  day,  we  went  on  in  the  Ben  Frank- 
lin, a  beautiful  mail  steamboat,  and  reached  Cin- 
cinnati shortly  after  midnight.  Being  by  this 
time  nearly  tired  of  sleeping  upon  shelves,  we 
had  ntmained  awake,  to  go  ashore  straightway  j 


10 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


and  groping  a  passage  across  the  dark  decks  of 
other  boats,  aud  among  labyrinths  of  eLgine- 
machinery  and  leaking  casks  of  molasses,  we 
reached  the  streets,  knocked  up  the  porter  at  the 
Ikotel  where  we  had  stayed  before,  and  were,  to 
our  great  joy,  safely  housed  soon  afterward. 

We  rested  but  one  day  at  Cincinnati,  and  then 
lesumed  our  journey  to  Sandusky.  As  it  com- 
prised two  varieties  of  stage-coach  travelling, 
which,  with  those  I  have  already  glanced  at,  com- 
prehend the  main  characteristics  of  this  mode  of 
transit  in  America,  I  will  take  the  reader  as  our 
ftllow-passenger,  and  pledge  myself  to  perform 
the  distance  with  all  possible  despatch. 

Our  place  of  destination  in  the  first  instance  is 
Columbus.  It  is  distant  about  a  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  from  Cincinnati,  but  there  is  a 
macadamized  road  frare  blessing!)  the  whole 
way,  and  the  rate  of  travelling  upon  it  is  six 
miles  an  hour. 

We  start  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  in  a 
great  mail-coach,  whose  huge  cheeks  are  so  very 
ruddy  and  plethoric,  that  it  appears  to  be  troubled 
■with  a  tendency  of  blood  to  the  head.  Dropsical 
it  certainly  is,  fur  it  will  hold  a  dozen  passengers 
inside.  But,  wonderful  to  add,  it  is  very  clean 
and  bright,  being  nearly  new,  and  rattles  through 
the  streets  of  Cincinnati  gayly. 

Our  way  lies  through  a  beautiful  country, 
Yichly  cultivated,  and  luxuriant  in  its  promise  of 
an  abundant  harvest.  Sometimes  we  pa.ss  a  field 
■where  the  strong  bristling  stalks  of  Indian  com 
look  like  a  crop  of  walking-sticks,  and  sometimes 
an  enclosure  where  the  green  wheat  is  springing 
up  among  a  lab3rrinth  oT  stumps ;  the  primitive 
tirorm-fence  is  universal,  and  an  ugly  thmg  it  is ; 
Imt  the  farms  are  neatly  kept,  and,  save  for  these 
^fferences,  one  might  oe  travelling  just  now  in 
Kent. 

We  often  stop  to  water  at  a  roadside  inn,  wluch 
is  always  dull  and  silent.  The  coachman  dis- 
mounts and  fills  his  bucket,  and  holds  it  to  the 
koises'  heads.  There  is  scarcely  ever  any  one 
to  help  him;  there  ara  seldom  any  loungers 
alandine  round,  and  never  any  stable-company 
with  jokes  to  crack.  Sometimes,  when  we  nave 
changed  our  team,  there  is  a  difficulty  in  starting 
again,  arising  out  of  the  prevident  mode  of  break- 
ing a  yoong  horse;  which  is  to  catch  him,  har- 
aess  mm  against  his  will,  and  put  him  in  a  stage- 
coach wimout  farther  notice;  but  we  get  on 
aomehow  or  other,  after  a  great  many  kicks  and 
a  violent  struggle,  and  jog  on  as  before  again. 

Oecasionally,  when  we  stop  to  change,  some 
two  or  three  half-drunken  loafers  will  come  loit- 
ering out  with  their  hands  in  their  ^ckets,  or 
will  be  seen  kicking  their  heels  in  rockmg-chairs, 
or  lotmging  on  the  window-sill,  or  sitting  on  a 
nil  within  the  colonnade  ^  they  have  not  often 
anything  to  say  though,  either  to  us  or  to  each 
other,  but  sit  there,  idly  staring  at  the  coach  and 
horses.  The  landlord  of  the  inn  is  usually 
among  them,  and  seems,  of  all  the  party,  to  he 
the  least  connected  with  the  business  of  the  house. 
Indeed  he  is  with  reference  to  the  tavern,  what 
the  driver  is  in  relation  to  the  coach  and  passen- 

fers ;  whatever  happens  in  his  sphere  of  action, 
e  is  quite  iudiiferent,  and  perfectly  easy  in  his 
mind. 

The  frequent  change  of  coachmen  works  no 
change  or  variety  in  the  coachman's  character. 
He  is  always  dirty,  sullen,  and  taciturn.  If  he 
be  capable  of  smartness  of  any  kind,  moral  or 
riiysical,  he  has  a  faculty  of  concealing  it  which 
IB  truly  marvellous.    He  never  speaks  to  you  as 


you  sit  beside  him  on  the  box,  and  if  yon  speak 
to  him,  he  answers  (if  at  all)  in  monosyllables. 
He  points  out  nothing  on  the  road,  and  seldom 
looks  at  anything;  being,  to  all  appeaiance, 
thoroughly  weary  of  it,  and  of  existence  general- 
ly. As  to  doing  the  honours  of  his  coach,  his 
business,  as  I  have  said,  is  with  the  horses.  The 
coach  follows  because  it  is  attached  to  them  and 
goes  on  wheels,  not  because  you  are  in  it.  Some- 
times, towards  the  end  of  a  long  stage,  he  sudden- 
ly breaks  out  into  a  discordant  fragment  of  an 
election  song,  but  his  face  never  sings  along  with 
him ;  it  is  only  his  voice,  and  not  often  that. 

He  always  chews  and  always  spits,  and  never 
encumbers  himself  with  a  pocket-handkerchief. 
The  consequences  to  the  box  passenger,  especial- 
ly when  the  wind  blows  towards  nim,  are  not 
agreeable. 

Whenever  the  coach  stops,  and  you  can  hear 
the  voices  of  the  inside  passengers ;  or  whenever 
any  by-stander  addresses  them,  or  any  one  among 
them,  or  they  address  each  other,  you  will  hear 
one  phrase  repeated  over  and  over,  and  over 
again,  to  the  most  extraordinary  extent.  It  is  an 
ordinary  and  unpromising  phrase  enough,  being 
neither  more  nor  less  than  "  Yes,  sir ;"  but  it  is 
adapted  to  every  variety  of  circumstance,  and 
fills  up  every  pause  in  the  conversation.   "Thus : 

The  time  is  one  o'clock  at  noon.  The  scene, 
a  place  where  we  are  to  stay  to  dine,  on  this 
journey.  The  coach  drives  up  to  tlie  door  of  an 
inn.  'The  day  is  warm,  and  there  are  several 
idlers  lingering  about  the  tavern,  and  waiting  for 
the  public  dinner.  Among  them,  is  a  stout  gen- 
tleman in  a  brown  hat,  swinging  himself  to  and 
fro  in  a  rocking-chair  on  the  pavement. 

As  the  coach  stops,  a  gentleman  in  a  straw  hat 
looks  out  of  the  window. 

Straw  Hat  (To  the  stout  gentleman  in  the 
rocking-chair).  I  reckon  that's  Judge  Jefiferson, 
a'ntit^ 

Brown  Hat  fStill  swinging,  speaking  very 
slowly,  and  witnout  any  emotion  whatever). 

Ye^,  sir.  ■< 

Warm  weather,  Judge. 

Yes,  sir. 

There  was  a  snap  of  cold  last 


Straw  Hat. 
Brown  Hat. 
Straw  Hat. 
week. 
Brown  Hat. 
Straw  Hat, 


Yes,  sir. 
Yes,  sir. 


A  pause.  They  look  at  each  other  very  seri- 
ously. 

Straw  Hat.  I  calculate 'you'll  have  got 
through  that  case  of  the  corpK)ration  judge,  Dy 
this  time,  now  1 

Brown  Hat.    Yes,  sir. 

Straw  Hat.    How  did  the  verdict  go,  sirl 

Brown  Hat.    For  the  defendant,  sir. 

Straw  Hat  (Interrogatively).    Yes,  sir! 

Brown  Hat  (Affirmatively).    Yes,  sir. 

Both  (Musingly,  as  each  gazes  down  the 
street).    Yes,  sir. 

Another  pause.  They  look  at  each  other 
again,  still  more  seriously  than  before. 

Brown  Hat.  This  coach  is  rather  behind  its 
time  to.day,  I  guess. 

Straw  Hat  (Doubtingly).    Yes,  sir. 

Bhown  Hat  (Looking  at  his  watch).  Yes, 
sir;  nigh  upon  two  hours. 

Straw  Hat  (Raising  his  eyebrows  in  very 
great  surprise).    Yes,  sir. 

Brown  Hat  (Decisively,  as  he  puts  up  hia 
watch).    Yes,  sir. 

All  the  other  inside  Pasbbngebs  ^amoDg 
themselves).  .^  Yes,  sir. 


NOTES   ON    AMERICA. 


71 


CoAOiiMAN  (in  a  very  surly  tone).    No  it  a'nt. 
JStraw  Hat  (to  the  coachman).     Well,  I  don't 
know,  sir.    We  were  a  pretty  tall  time  coming 
tliut  last  fifteen  mile.    Tnat's  a  tact. 

I'he  coachman  making  no  reply,  and  plainly 
declining  to  enter  into  any  controversy  on  a  sulih. 
ject  so  lar  removed  i'rom  his  sympathies  and 
feelings,  another  pa.ssenger  says  "  Yes,  sir;"  and 
the  gentleman  in  the  straw  hat,  in  acknowledg- 
ment of  his  courtesy,  says  "  Yes,  sir"  to  him,  in 
return.     The  straw  hat  then  inquires  of  the 
brown  hat,  whether  that  coach  in  which  he  (the 
straw  hat)  then  sits,  is  not  a  new  one.    To  which 
the  brown  hat  again  makes  answer,  "  Yes,  sir." 
Straw  Hat.      I  thought   so.      Pretty   loud 
smell  of  varnish,  sir  1 
Brown  Hat.    Yes,  sir. 
All  the  other  inside  Passengers.     Yes, 
sir. 

Brown  Hat  (to  the  company  in  general). 
Yes,  sir. 

The  conversational  powers  of  the  company 
having  been  by  this  time  pretty  heavily  taxed, 
-  straw  hat  opens  the  door  and  gets  out,  acd  all 
the  rest  alight  also.  We  dine  soon  anerward 
with  the  boarders  in  the  house,  and  have  nothing 
to  driiik  but  tea  and  coffee.  As  thev  are  both 
very  bad,  and  the  water  is  worse,  I  ask  for  bran- 
dy; but  it  is  a  Temperance  Hotel,  and  spirits 
are  not  to  be  had  for  love  or  money.  This  pre- 
pc-iterous  forcing  of  unpleasant  drinks  down  the 
reluctant  throats  of  travellera  is  not  at  all  uncom- 
mon in  America,  but  I  never  discovered  that 
the  scruples  of  such  wincing  landlords  induced 
them  to  preserve  an^  unusually  nice  balance  be- 
tween the  quality  of  their  fare  and  their  scale  of 
charges:  on  the  contrary,  I  rather  suspected 
them  of  diminishing  the  one  and  exalting  the 
other,  by  way  of  recompense  for  the  loss  of  their 
profit  on  the  sale  of  spirituous  liquors.  After 
all,  perhaps,  the  plainest  course  for  persons  of 
such  tender  consciences  would  '«,  a  total  absti- 
nence from  tavern-keeping. 

Dinner  over,  we  get  into  another  vehicle 
which  is  ready  at  the  door  (for  the  coach  has 
been  changed  in  the  interval),  and  resume  our 
journey,  which  continues  through  the  same  kind 
'  of  country  until  evening,  when  we  come  to  the 
<^town  where  we  are  to  stop  for  tea  and  supper ; 
and  having  delivered  the  mail-bags  at  the  post- 
oflice,  ride  through  the  usual  wide  titreet,  lined 
with  the  usual  stores  and  houses  (the  drapers 
always  having  hun^  up  at  their  door,  by  way  of 
sign,  a  piece  of  bright  red  cloth),  to  the  hotel 
-where  this  meal  is  prepared.  There  being  many 
'boarders  here,  we  sit  down,  a  very  lai^  party, 
'  and  a  very  melancholy  one  as  usual.  But  there 
U  a  buxom  hostess  at  the  head  of  the  tab)».  'nJ 
opposite,  a  simple  Welsh  schoolmaster  with  his 
wife  and  child,  who  came  here,  on  a  speculation 
of  greater  promise  than  performance,  to  teach 
the  classics :  and  they  are  sufficient  subjects  of 
interest  until  the  meal  is  over,  and  another  coach 
is  ready.  In  it  we  go  on  once  more,  lighted  by 
a  bright  moon,  until  midnight ;  when  we  stop  to 
change  the  coach  again,  and  remain  for  half  an 
hour  or  so  in  a  miserable  room,  with  a  bluiTed 
lithograph  of  Washington  over  the  smoky  fire- 
place, and  a  mighty  jug  of  cold  water  on  the 
table ;  to  which  refreshment  the  moody  passen- 
gers do  so  apply  themselves,  that  they  would 
peem  to  be,  one  and  all,  keen  patients  oi'  Doctor 
Sangrado.  Among  them  is  a  very  little  boy. 
who  chews  tobacco  like  a  very  big  one ;  and  a 
4boning  gentleman,  who  talks  arithmetically  and 


statistically  on  all  subjects,  from  poetry  down- 
ward; antt  who  always  speaks  in  the  same  key, 
with  exactly  the  same  emphasis,  and  with  veiy 
grave  deliberation.  He  came  outside  just  now, 
and  told  me  how  that  the  uncle  of  a  certain 
young  lady  who  had  been  spirited  away  and 
married  by  a  certain  captain,  lived  in  these 
parts ;  and  how  this  imcle  was  so  valiant  and 
lerocious,  that  he  shouldn't  wonder  if  he  were  to 
follow  the  said  captain  to  England,  "and  shoot 
him  down  in  the  street,  wherever  he  found  him ;" 
in  the  feasibility  of  which  strong  measure  i,  be- 
ing for  the  moment  rather  prone  to  contradiction, 
from  feeling  half  asleep  and  ver)'  tired,  declined 
to  acquiesce :  assuring  him  that  if  the  uncle  did 
resort  to  it,  or  gratified  any  other  little  whim  of 
the  like  nature,  he  would  iuid  himself  one  morn- 
ing prematurely  throttled  at  the  Old  Bailey ;  and 
that  he  would  do  well  to  make  his  will  before  he 
went,  as  he  would  certainly  want  it  before  he  had 
b«;en  in  Britain  very  long. 

On  we  go,  all  night,  and  by-and-by  the  day 
begins  to  break,  and  presently  the  first  cheerful 
rays  of  the  wann  sun  come  slanting  on  us  bright- 
ly. It  sheds  its  light  upon  a  miserable  wa.ste  of 
sodden  grass,  and  dull  trees,  and  squalid  huts, 
whose  aspect  is  forlorn  and  grievous  in  the  last 
degree.  A  very  desert  in  the  wood,  whose 
growth  of  green  is  dank  and  noxious,  like  that 
upon  the  top  of  standing  water;  where  poison- 
ous fungus  grows  in  the  rare  footprint  on  the 
oozy  ground,  and  sprouts  like  witches'  coral  from 
the  crevices  in  the  cabin  wall  and  floor ;  it  is  a 
hideous  thing  to  lie  upon  tiie  very  threshold 
of  a  city.  But  it  was  purchased  years  ago, 
and  as  the  owner  cannot  be  discovered,  the  State 
has  been  imable  to  reclaim  it.  So  there  it  re- 
mains, in  the  midst  of  cultivation  and  improve- 
ment, like  ground  accursed,  and  made  obscene 
and  rank  by  some  great  crime. 

We  reached  Columbus  shortly  before  seven 
o'clock,  and  stayed  there,  to  refresh,  that  day 
and  night:  having  excellent  apartments  in  a 
very  large  unfinished  hotel  called  the  Neill 
House,  which  were  richly  fitted  with  the  polish- 
ed wood  of  the  black  walnut,  and  openea  on  a 
handsome  portico  and  stone  verandah,  like  rooms 
in  some  Italian  mansion.  The  town  is  cleatt 
and  pretty,  and,  of  coarse,  is  "going  to  be" 
much  larger.  It  is  the  seat  of  the  State  L^is- 
ture  of  Ohio,  and  lays  claim,  in  consequence,  to 
some  consideration  and  importance. 

There  being  no  stage-coach  next  day,  upon 
the  road  we  wished  to  take,  I  hired  "  an  extra," 
at  a  reasonable  charge,  to  carry  us  to  Tiffin ;  a 
small  town  from  whence  there  is  a  railroad  to 
Sandusky.  This  extra  was  an  ordinary  four- 
horse  stage-coach,  such  as  I  have  described, 
changing  norses  and  drivers,  as  the  stage-coach 
would,  but  was  exclusively  our  own  for  the 
journey.  To  ensure  our  having  horses  at  the 
proper  stations,  and  being  incommoded  by  no 
strangers,  the  proprietors  sent  an  agent  on  the 
box,  who  was  to  accompany  us  the  whole  way 
through;  and  thus  attended,  and  bearing  with 
us,  besides,  a  hamper  full  of  savoury  cold  meats, 
and  fniit,  and  wine,  we  started  off  again,  in 
high  spirits,  at  half  past  six  o'clock  next  morn- 
ing, very  much  delighted  to  be  by  ourselves,  and 
disposed  to  enjoy  even  the  roughest  journey. 

It  was  well  for  us  that  we  were  in  this  hu- 
mour, for  the  road  we  went  over  that  day,  was 
certainly  enough  to  have  shaken  tempers  that 
were  not  resolutely  at  Set  Fair,  down  to  some 
inches  below  Stormy.    At  one  lime  we  were  all 


7% 


NOTES  ON   AMERICA. 


iong  tO£«ther  in  a  heap  at  the  bottom  of  the 
coach,  ai;d  at  another  we  -were  crushing  our 
heads  against  the  roof.  Now,  orie  ^iu*?  was 
down  deep  in  tUe  mire,  and  we  were  holding  on 
to  the  other.  Now,  the  coach  yr»s  lyiug  on  the 
tails  of  the  two  wheeler?  j  and  now  it  was  rear- 
ing up  in  the  air,  in  a  frantic  state,  with  all  four 
horses  standing  on  the  top  of  an  insurmountable 
eminence,  looking  coolly  back  u:  it,  as  though 
they  would  say  "Unharness  us.  It  can't  be 
done."  The  drivers  on  these  roads,  who  cer- 
tainly gel  over  the  ground  in  a  manner  which  is 
quite  miraculous,  so  twist  and  turn  the  team 
about  in  forcing  a  passage,  corkscrew  fashion, 
through  the  bogs  and  swamps,  that  it  was  quite 
a  common  circumstance  on  looking  out  of  the 
window,  to  ifee  the  coachman  with  the  ends  of  a 
pair  of  reins  in  his  hands,  apparently  driving 
nothing,  or  playing  at  horses,  and  the  leaders 
staring  at  one  unexpectedly  from  the  back  of  the 
coach,  as  if  they  had  some  idea  of  getting  up 
behind.  A  great  portion  of  the  way  was  over 
what  is  called  a  coidnroy  road,  which  is  made 
by  throwing  trunks  of  trees  into  a  marsh,  and 
leaving  them  to  settle  there.  The  very  slightest 
of  the  jolts  with  which  the  ponderous  carriage 
fell  from  log  to  log,  was  enough,  it  r>eemed,  to 
have  dislocated  all  Uie  bones  in  tlie  h!:?nian  body. 
It  would  be  impossible  to  expfncnce  a  similar 
set  of  sensations,  in  any  other  circurvistances, 
unless  perhaps  in  attempting  tu  go  u|'  to  the  top 
of  Saint  Paul's  in  an  omnibus.  ;>iever  never 
oiif.':;,  that  day,  w^  the  coach  in  any  po&ition, 
attitude,  or  kind  of  motion  to  which  we  are  ac- 
customed in  coaches.  Never  did  it  make  the 
sra;  llest  approach  to  one'.s  experience  of  the 
prooy  -dings  of  any  sort  of  vehicle  that  goes  on 
•n'hee]s. 

Stiil,  it  vra.^  a  fine  day,  and  :he  temper-ture 
was  delicious,  and  though  we  had  left  Summer 
behind  us  in  the  west,  and  were  fast  leaving 
Spring,  we  were  moving  towards  Niagara,  and 
home.  We  alighted  in  a  pleasant  wood  towards 
the  middle  of  the  day,  'Ained  on  a  fallen  tree,  and 
leaving  our  best  fragn^  .r;ts  with  a  cottager,  and 
our  worst  with  the  pigs  ;^  ?ho  swarm  in  this  pai  t 
of  the  country  like  grains  of  sand  on  the  sea- 
shore, to  the  great  comfort  of  our  commissariat 
in  Canada),  we  went  forward  again  gayly. 
'  As  night  came  on,  the  track  $('«w  narrower 
and  narrower,  untii  at  last  it  so  Xv  i  itself  among 
the  trees,  that  the  driver  seemed  to  lind  his  way 
by  instinct.  We  had  the  comfort  of  knowing,  at 
least,  that  there  was  no  danger  of  his  falling 
asleep,  for  every  now  and  then  a  wheel  would 
strike  against  an  unseen  stump  with  such  a  jerk, 
that  he  was  fain  to  hold  on  pi'etty  tight  and  pret- 
ty quick,  to  keep  himself  upon  the  box.  Nor 
was  there  any  reason  to  dread  the  least  danger 
from  furious  driving,  inasmuch  as  over  that 
broken  ground  the  horses  had  enough  to  do  to 
walk;  as  tn  shying,  there  was  no  room  for  that; 
and  a  herd  of  wild  elephants  could  not  have  run 
away  in  such  a  wood,  with  such  a  coach  at 
their  heels.  So  we  stumbled  along,  quite  satis- 
fied. 

These  stumps  of  trees  are  a  curious  feature  in 
American  travelling.  The  varying  illusions 
they  present  to  the  unaccustomed  eye  as  it  grows 
dark,  are  quite  astonishing  in  their  number  and 
reality.  Now,  there  is  a  Grecian  urn  erected  in 
the  centre  of  a  lonely  field ;  now  there  is  a  wom- 
an weeping  at  a  tomb;  now  a  very  common- 
place old  gentleman  in  a  white  waistcoat,  with  a 
thumb  thrust  into  each  arm-hole  of  his  coat; 


I  now  a  student  poring  on  a  book;  now  a  croneb- 
'  ing  negro;  now  a  horse,  a  dog,  a  cannon,  an. 
armed  man ;  a  hunch-back  throwing  off  his  cloak 
and  stepping  forth  into  the  light.  They  wero 
^yhtm  as  entertaining  to  me  as  so  manv  glasses 
in  a  magic  lantern,  and  never  took  their  shapes 
at  my  bidding,  biU  seemed  to  force  themselves 
upon  me,  wlicthex  I  would  or  no ;  and  strange 
to  say,  1  sometimes  recognised  in  them,  counter- 
parts of  figures  once  familiar  to  me  in  pictures 
attached  to  childish  books,  forgotten  long  ago. 

It  soon  became  too  dark,  however,  even  for 
this  amusement,  and  the  trees  were  so  close  to- 
gether that  the  dr^  branches  rattled  against  the 
coach  on  either  side,  and  'jbliged  us  all  to  keep 
our  heads  within.  It  lightened,  too,  for  three 
whole  hours ;  each  iiash  bein^  very  bright,  and 
blue,  and  long ;  aiKl  as  the  vivid  streaks  came 
darting  in  among  the  crowded  branches,  and  the 
thunder  rolled  gloomily  above  the  tree  tops,  one 
could  scarc<:.ly  help  thinking  that  there  were  bet- 
ter neighbourhoods  at  such  a  time  tiian  thick 
woods  afforded. 

At  length,  between  ten  and  eleven,  o'clock  at 
night,  a  few  feeble  light-i  appeared  iu  the  dis- 
tance, and  Upper  Sandusky,  an  India.!  village, 
where  we  were  to  stay  till  morning,  lay  before 
us. 

They  were  gone  to  bed  at  the  log  inss,  whicJx 
was  the  only  liouse  of  entertainment  in  the  placf*^ 
hut  f'oon  answered  to  our  knocking,  and  got  aoxnti 
tea  for  us  in  a  sort  of  kitchen  or  common  rooti ,, 
fri^vestried  with  old  newspapei-s,  pasted  againfcK 
0  e  wall.  The  bed-c!iamber  to  which  my  wife- 
and  I  w«  re  sho\*'n,  was  a  large,  low,  ghostly 
room:  with  a  qnantity  of  witherea  branches  on 
the  heai'.i.,  and  two  doors  without  any  fastening,, 
opposite ;  o  each  other,  both  opening  on  the  black 
night  .tnd  wild  country,  and  so  contrived,  that 
one  of  them  always  blew  the  other  open :  a  novel- 
ty in  domestic  architecture  which  I  do  not  re- 
member to  have  seen  before,  and  which  I  was 
somewhat  disconcerted  to  have  forced  on  my  at- 
tention a/ler  getting  into  bed,  as  I  had  a  con- 
siderable sum  in  gold  for  our  travelling  expenses, 
in  my  dressing-case.  Some  of  the  luggage,  how- 
ever, piled  against  the  panels,  soon  settled  this- 
difllcultyj  and  my  sleep  would  have  been  very 
much  afiected  that  night,  I  believe,  though  it  had' 
failed  to  do  so. 

My  Boston  friend  climbed  up  to  bed  some- 
where in  the  roof,  where  another  guest  was  al- 
ready snoring  hugely.  But  being  bitten  beyond 
his  power  of  endurance,  he  turned  out  again,  and 
fled  for  shelter  to  the  coach,  which  was  airings 
itself  in  front  of  the  house.  "This  was  not  a  very 
politic  step,  as  it  turned  out ;  for  the  pigs  scent- 
ing him,  and  looking  upon  the  coach  as  a  kind 
of  pie  with  some  manner  of  meat  inside,  grunted' 
round  it  so  hideously,  that  iie  was  afraid  to  come 
out  again,  and  lay  there  shivering  till  morning. 
Nor  was  it  possible  to  warm  him  when  he  did 
come  out,  by  means  of  a  glass  of  brandy ;  for  in 
Indian  villages,  the  legislature,  with  a  very  good 
and  wise  intention,  forbids  the  sale  of  spirits  by 
tavern  keepers.  The  precaution,  however,  is 
quite  inefiicacious,  for  tne  Indians  never  fail  to 
procure  liquor  of  a  worse  kind,  at  a  dearer  price, 
from  travelling  pedlers. 

It  is  a  settlement  of  the  V/yoming  Indians  who- 
inhabit  this  place.  Among  the  company  at  break- 
fast was  a  mild  old  gentleman,  who  had  been  for 
many  years  employed  by  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment in  conaucting  negotiations  with  the  In- 
dians, and  who  had  just  concluded  a  treaty  wUtk-. 


1 


.  croneb- 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


I 


people,  by  which  they  bound  themaelres, 
in  consideration  of  a  certain  annual  sum,  to  re- 
move next  year  to  some  land  provided  for  them, 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  a  little  way  beyona 
St.  Louis.  He  gave  me  a  moving  account  of 
their  strong  attachment  to  the  familiar  scenes  of 
their  infancy,  and  in  particular  of  their  burial- 

i>laces  of  their  kindred ;  and  of  their  great  re- 
uctance  to  leave  them.  He  had  witnessed  many 
such  removals,  and  always  with  pain,  though  hie 
knew  that  they  departed  for  their  own  good. 
The  question  whetner  this  tribe  should  go  or 
stay  had  been  discussed  among  them  a  day  or 
two  before,  in  a  hut  erected  for  the  purpose,  the 
logs  of  which  still  lay  upon  the  ground  before 
the  inn.  When  the  speakmg  was  done,  the  ayes 
and  noes  -nere  ranged  on  opposite  sides,  and 
every  male  :dult  voted  in  his  turn.  The  mo- 
roeiii  the  r.?8Vf  ir  was  known,  the  minority  (a  large 
one)  cheerfu  'r  yielded  to  Uie  rest,  and  withdrew 
all  Hiid  of  <:  I  r(.,bition. 

"He  met  fs. 'ne  of  these  poor  Indians  after- 
ward, riding  on  shaggy  ponies.  They  were  so 
like  gipsies,  that  if  I  could  have  seen  any  of 
them  in  England,  I  should  have  concluded,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  that  they  belonged  to  that  wan- 
dering and  re.'^iess  people. 

Lesv  ag  thv;  town  directly  after  breakfast,  we 
pushed  forward  ^&in,  over  a  rather  worse  road 
than  yesterday,  if  possible,  and  arrived  about 
.  '  in  at  Tiffin,  where  we  parted  with  the  extra. 
At  two  o'clock  we  took  the  railroad ;  the  travel- 
ling on  which  was  very  slow,  its  construction 
being  indifferent,  and  the  ground  wet  and  marshy ; 
and  arrived  at  Sandusky  in  time  to  dine  that 
evening.  We  put  up  at  a  comfortable  little  hotel 
on  the  brink  oi  Lake  Erie,  lay  there  that  night, 
and  had  no  choice  but  to  wait  there  next  day, 
until  a  steamboat  bound  for  Buffalo  appeared. 
The  town,  which  was  sluggish  and  uninteresting 
enough,  was  something  like  the  back  of  an  Eng- 
lish watering-place,  out  of  the  season. 

Our  host,  wno  was  very  attentive  and  anxious 
to  make  us  comfortable,  was  a  handsome  middle- 
aged  man,  who  had  come  to  this  town  from  New 
England,  in  which  part  of  the  country  he  was 
"  raised."  When  I  say  that  he  constantly  walk- 
ed in  and  out  of  the  room  with  his  hat  on ;  and 
stopped  to  converse  in  the  same  free-and-easy 
state ;  and  lay  down  on  our  sofa,  and  pulled  his 
newspaper  out  of  his  pocket,  and  read  it  at  his 
ease;  I  merely  mention  these  traits  as  character- 
istic of  the  country:  not  at  all  as  being  matter  of 
cpmpluint,  or  as  having  been  disagreeable  to  me. 
I  should  undoubtedly  be  offended  by  such  pro- 
ceedings at  home,  because  there  they  are  not  the 
custom,  and  where  they  are  not,  they  would  be 
impertinences ;  but  in  America,  the  only  desire 
of  a  good-natured  fellow  of  this  kind,  is  to  treat 
his  guests  hospitably  and  well ;  and  I  have  no 
more  right,  and  I  can  truly  say  no  more  disposi- 
tion, to  measure  his  conduct  by  our  English  rule 
and  standard,  than  I  had  to  quarrel  with  him  for 
cot  being  of  the  exact  stature  which  would  quali- 
ly  him  lor  admission  into  the  queen's  grenadier 
guards.  As  little  inclination  had  I  to  find  fault 
with  a  funny  old  lady  who  was  an  upper  domes- 
tic in  this  establishment,  and  who,  when  she 
came  to  wait  upon  us  at  any  meal,  sat  herself 
down  comfortably  In  the  most  convenient  chair, 
and  producing  a  large  pin  to  pick  her  teeth  with, 
remained  peiforming  that  ceremony,  and  stead- 
fafiily  regarding  us  meanwhile  with  much  gravi- 
ty and  composure  (now  and  then  pressing  us  to 
eat  a  little  more),  until  it  was  time  to  clear  away. 


It  was  enough  for  ns,  that  whatever  we  wished 
done  was  done  with  great  civility  and  readiness, 
and  a  desire  to  oblige,  not  only  here,  but  every, 
where  else ;  and  that  all  our  wants  were,  in  gen> 
eral,  zealously  anticipated. 

We  were  taking  an  early  dinner  at  this  house, 
on  the  day  after  our  arrival,  which  was  Sunday, 
when  a  steamboat  came  in  sight,  and  presently 
touched  at  the  wharf  As  she  proved  to  be  oa 
her  way  to  Buffalo,  we  hurried  on  board  with  all 
speed,  and  soon  left  Sandusky  far  behind  ns. 

She  was  a  large  vessel  of  five  hundred  tons, 
and  handsomely  fitted  up.  though  with  high- 

Eressure  engines;  which  always  conveyed  that 
ind  of  feeling  to  me,  which  I  should  lie  likely 
to  experience,  I  think,  if  I  had  lodgings  on  the 
first  floor  of  a  powder-mill.  She  was  laden  with 
flour,  some  casks  of  which  commodity  were 
stored  upon  the  deck.  The  captain  coming  up 
to  have  a  little  conversation,  and  to  introduce  & 
friend,  seated  bimself  astride  of  one  of  these  bar> 
rels,  like  a  Bacchus  of  private  life ;  and  pulling 
a  great  clasp-knife  out  of  his  pocket,  began  to 
"  whittle"  it  as  he  Ulked,  by  paring  thin  slices 
off  the  edges.  And  he  whittled  with  such  indus- 
try and  hearty  good  will,  that  but  for  his  being 
called  away  very  soon,  it  must  have  disappear^ 
bodily,  and  left  nothing  in  its  place  but  ^nst  and 
shavings. 

After  calling  at  one  or  two  flat  places,  with  low 
dams  stretching  out  into  the  lake,  whereon  were 
stumpy  lighthouses,  like  windmills  without  sails, 
the  whole  looking  like  a  Dutch  vignette,  we  came 
at  midnight  to  Cleveland,  where  we  lay  all  nighty 
and  until  nine  o'clock  next  morning. 

I  entertained  quite  a  curiosity  in  reference  to 
this  place,  from  having  seen  at  Sandusky  a  spe- 
cimen of  its  literature  in  the  shape  of  a  news- 
paper, which  was  very  strong  indeed  upon  the 
subject  of  Lord  Ashburton's  recent  arrival  at 
Washington,  to  adjust  the  points  in  dispute  be- 
tween the  United  States  Government  and  Great 
Britain ;  informing  its  readers  that  as  America 
had  "whipped"  England  in  her  infancy,  and 
whipped  her  again  in  her  youth,  so  it  was  clear- 
ly necessary  that  she  must  whip  her  once  again 
in  her  maturity ;  and  pledging"  its  credit  to  all 
true  Americans,  that  If  Mr.  Webster  did  hi» 
duty  in  the  approaching  negotiations,  and  sent 
the  English  lord  home  again  in  double  quick 
time,  they  should,  withki  tvro  yeare,  "  sing 
Yankee  Doodle  in  Hyde  Pirk,  and  Hail  Co- 
lumbia in  the  scarlet  courtii  of  Westminster  I" 
I  found  it  a  pretty  town,  and  had  the  satisfaction 
of  beholding  the  outside  of  the  office  of  the  jour- 
nal from  which  I  have  just  quoted.  I  did  not 
enjoy  the  delight  of  seeing  the  wit  who  indited 
the  paragraphs  in  question,  but  I  have  no  doubt 
he  is  a  prodigious  man  in  his  way,  and  held  in 
high  repute  by  a  select  circle. 

There  was  a  gentleman  on  board,  to  whom,  a» 
I  unintentionally  learned  through  the  thin  parti- 
tion which  divided  our  state-room  from  the  caMn 
in  which  he  and  his  wife  conversed  together,  I 
was  unwittingly  the  occasion  of  very  great  im- 
easiness.  I  don't  know  why  or  wherelore,  but  I 
appeared  to  run  in  his  mind  perpetually,  and  to 
dissatisfy  him  very  much.  First  of  all  I  heard 
him  say :  and  the  most  ludicrous  part  of  the  busi- 
ness was,  that  he  said  it  in  my  very  ear,  and 
could  not  have  communicated  more  directly  with 
me,  if  he  had  leaned  upon  my  shoulder,  and 
whispered  me :  "  Boz  is  on  board  still,  my  dear."^ 
After  a  considerable  pause,  he  added,  complain- 
jngly,  <<  Bos  keeps  huuself  very  close ;"  whick 


74 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


was  true  enough,  for  I  waa  not  very  well,  and 
was  lying  down  with  a  book.  I  thought  he 
Lad  done  with  me  alter  this,  but  I  was  deceived ; 
tor  a  long  interval  having  elapsed,  during  which 
I  imagine  him  to  have  been  turning  restlessly 
Irom  side  to  side,  and  trying  to  go  to  sleep;  he 
broke  out  again  with,  "  I  suppose  that  Boz  will 
be  writing  a  book  by-and-by,  and  putting  all  our 
names  in  it !"  at  which  imaginary  consequence 
ol  being  on  board  a  boat  with  Boz,  he  groaned, 
and  became  silent. 

We  called  at  the  town  of  Erie,  at  eight  o'clock 
that  night,  and  lay  there  an  hour.  Between  live 
and  six  next  morning,  we  arrived  at  Butfalo, 
where  we  breakfasted ;  and  being  too  near  the 
-Great  Falls  to  wait  patiently  anywhere  else,  we 
.•-^t  olf  by  the  train,  the  same  morning  at  nine 
o'clock,  to  I^iagara. 

It  was  a  miserable  day;  chilly  and  raw;  a. 
damp  mist  falling ;  and  the  trees  in  that  northern 
region  quite  bare  and  wintry.  Whenever  the 
train  halted,  I  listened  for  the  roar;  and  was  con- 
stantly straining  my  eyes  in  the  direction  where 
I  knew  the  Falls  must  be,  from  seeing  the  river 
rolling  on  towards  them ;  every  moment  expect- 
ing to  behold  the  spray.  Within  a  few  minutes 
of  our  stopping,  not  before,  I  saw  two  great  white 
clouds  rising  up  slowly  and  majestically  from 
the  depths  of  tne  earth.  That  was  aU.  At 
length  we  alighted :  and  tlicn  for  the  first  time, 
I  heard  the  mighty  rush  of  water,  and  felt  the 
grotmd  tremble  underneath  my  feet. 

The  bank  is  very  steep,  and  was  slippery  with 
rain,  and  half-melted  ice.  1  hardly  know  how 
I  got  down,  but  I  was  soon  at  the  bottom,  and 
climbing,  with  two  English  officers  who  were 
crossing  and  had  joined  me,  over  some  broken 
rocks,  deafened  by  the  noise,  half-blinded  by  the 
spray,  and  wet  to  the  skin.  We  were  at  the  foot 
of  the  American  Fall.  I' could  see  an  immense 
torrent  of  water  tearing  headlong  down  from 
fiome  great  height,  but  had  no  idea  of  shape,  or 
fiitnation,  or  anytfaiing  but  vague  immensity. 

When  we  were  seated  in  the  little  ferry-boat, 
and  were  crossing  the  swollen  river  immediately 
tiefore  both  cataracts,  I  began  to  feel  what  it  was : 
bat  I  was  in  a  manner  stunned,  and  tmable  to 
comprehend  the  vastness  of  the  scene.  It  was 
tiot  until  I  came  on  Table  Rock,  and  looked — 
Cheat  Heaven,  on  what  a  fall  of  bright-green 
water!— that  it  came  open  me  in  its  full  might 
and  majesty. 

Then,  when  I  felt  how  near  to  my  Creator  I 
was  standing,  the  first  effect,  and  the  enduring 
one — instant  and  lasting — of  the  tremendous 
cpectade,  was  Peace.  Peace  of  Mind:  Tran- 
fluillty :  calm  recollections  of  the  Dead :  Great 
Thoughts  of  Eternal  Rest  and  Happiness :  no- 
thing of  Gloom  or  Terror.  Niagara  was  at  once 
stamped  upon  my  heart,  an  Image  of  Beautjr ;  to 
remam  there,  changeless  and  indelible,  until  its 
pulses  cease  to  beat,  forever. 

Oh,  how  the  strife  and  trouble  of  our  daily  life 
receded  from  my  view,  and  lessened  in  the  dis- 
tance, during  the  ten  memorable  days  we  passed 
on  that  Enchanted  Ground !  What  voices  spoke 
from  out  the  thundering  water;  what  (aces,  faded 
from  the  earth,  looked  out  upon  me  from  its 
:  gleaming  depths ;  what  Heavenly  promise  glis- 
tened in  those  angels'  tears,  the  drops  of  many 
hues,  that  showered  around,  and  twined  them- 
selves about  the  gorgeous  arches  which  the 
changing  rainbows  made  t 

I  never  stirred  in  all  that  time  from  the  Cana- 
San  side,  whither  I  had  gone  at  first    I  never 


crossed  the  river  again ;  for  I  knew  there  wera 
people  on  the  other  shore,  and  in  such  a  place  it 
is  natural  to  shun  strange  company.  To  wander 
to  and  fro  all  day,  and  see  the  cataracts  from  all 
points  of  view ;  to  stand  upon  the  edge  of  the 
Great  Horse  Shoe  Fall,  marking  the  hurried 
water  gathering  strength  as  it  approached  the 
verge,  yet  seeming,  too,  to  jpause  before  it  shot 
into  the  gulf  below ;  to  ga^e  from  the  river's  level 
up  to  the  torrent  as  it  came  streaming  down ;  to 
climb  the  neighbouring  heights  and  watch  it 
through  the  trees,  and  see  the  wreathing  water  in 
the  rapids  hurrying  on  to  take  its  fearful  plunge; 
to  linger  in  the  shadow  of  the  solemn  rocks  three 
miles  below ;  watching  the  river  as,  stirred  by  no 
visible  cause,  it  heaved  and  eddied  and  awoke 
the  echoes,  bein^  troubled  yet,  far  down  beneath 
the  surface,  bv  its  giant  leap ;  to  have  Niagara 
before  me,  lighted  by  the  svm  and  by  the  moon, 
red  in  the  day's  decline,  and  gray  as  evening 
slowly  fell  upon  it;  to  look  upon  it  every  day, 
and  wake  up  in  the  night  and  near  its  ceaseless 
voice    this  was  enough. 

I  th  i .  in  every  quiet  season  now,'Still  do  those 
waters  roll  and  leap,  and  roar  and  tumble,  all 
day  long;  still  are  the  rainbows  spanning  them, 
a  hundred  feet  below.  Still,  when  the  sun  is  on 
them,  do  they  shine  and  glow  like  molten  gold. 
Still,  when  the  day  is  gloomy,  do  they  fall  like 
snow,  or  seem  to  crumble  away  like  tne  front  of 
a  great  chalk  cliff,  or  roll  adown  the  rock  like 
dense  white  smoke,  uut  always  does  the  mighty 
stream  appear  to  die  as  it  comes  down,  and  al- 
ways from  the  unfathoiiiable  grave  arises  that 
tremendous  ghost  of  spray  and  mist  which  is 
never  laid :  which  has  naunted  this  place  with 
the  same  dread  solemnity  since  Darkness  brood- 
ed on  the  deep,  and  that  first  flood  before  the 
Deluge— Light— came  rushing  on  Creation  at 
the  word  of  God. 


CHAPTER  XV.  ' 

IN   CANADA  ;    TOBONTO  ;    KINGSTON  ;    MONTREAL  ; 

QUEBEC  ;  ST.  John's,  in  the  united  states 
again;  leb/non  ;  the  shaker  village;  and 
west  point. 

I  wish  to  abstain  firom  insinuating  any  com- 
parison, or  drawing  any  parallel  whatever,  be- 
tween the  social  features  of  the  United  States 
and  those  of  the  British  Possessions  ia  Canada. 
For  this  reason,  I  shall  confine  myself  to  a  veiy 
brief  account  of  our  joumeyings  in  the  latter  ter- 
ritory. 

But  before  I  leave  Niagara,  I  must  advert  to 
one  disgusting  circumstance  which  can  hardly 
have  escaped  the  observation  of  any  decent  trav- 
eller who  has  visited  the  Falls. 

On  Table  Rock,  there  is  a  cottage  belonging 
to  a  Guide,  where  little  relics  of  the  place  are 
sold,  and  where  visiters  register  their  names  in 
a  book  kept  for  the  purpose.  On  the  wall  of  the 
room  in  which  a  great  many  of  these  volumes 
are  preserved,  the  following  request  is  posted  : 
"  Visitors  will  please  not  copy  nor  extract  the 
remarks  and  poetical  effusions  from  the  regis- 
ters and  albums  kept  here." 

But  for  this  intimation,  I  should  have  let  them 
lie  upon  the  tables  on  which  they  were  strewn 
with  careful  negligence,  like  books  in  a  drawing- 
room  :  being  quite  satisfied  with  the  stupendous 
silliness  of  certain  stanzas  with  an  anti-climax 
at  the  end  of  each,  which  were  framed  and' 


NOTES   ON    AMERICA.' 


75 


hang  up  on  the  wall.  Curious,  however,  after 
reading  this  announcement,  to  see  what  Icind  of 
morsels  were  so  carefully  preserved,  I  turned  a 
few  leaves,  and  found  them  scrawled  all  over 
with  the  vilest  and  the  filthiest  ribaldry  that 
«ver  human  hogs  delighted  in. 

It  is  humiliating  enough  to  know  that  there 
are  among  men,  brutes  so  obscene  and  worth- 
Jess,  that  they  can  delight  in  laying  their  miser- 
able profanations  upon  the  very  steps  of  Nature's 
greatest  altar.  But  that  these  should  be  hoard- 
ed up  for  the  delight  of  their  fellow  swine,  and 
kept  in  a  public  place  where  any  eyes  may  see 
them,  is  a  disgrace  to  the  English  language  in 
which  they  are  written  (though  I  hope  fow  of 
these  entries  have  been  made  by  Englishmen), 
and  a  reproach  to  the  English  side,  on  which 
they  are  preserved. 

The  quarters  of  our  soldiers  at  Niagara  are 
finely  and  airily  situated.  Some  of  them  are 
large  detached  houses  on  the  plain  above  the 
Falls,  wh^ch  were  originally  designed  for  hotels, 
and  in  the  evening  time,  when  the  women  and 
children  were  leaning  over  the  balconies  watch- 
ing the  men  as  they  played  at  ball  and  other 
games  upon  the  grass  before  thu  door,  they  of- 
ten presented  a  little  picture  of  cheerAilness  and 
animation  which  made  it  quite  a  pleasure  to 
pass  that  way. 

At  any  garrisoned  point  where  the  line  of  de- 
marcation between  one  country  and  another  is 
«o  very  narrow  as  at  Niagara,  desertion  from 
the  raiUcs  can  scarcely  fail  to  be  of  frequent  oc- 
currence ;  and  it  may  be  reasonably  supposed 
that,  when  the  soldiers  entertain  the  wildest 
and  maddest  hopes  of  the  fortune  and  inde- 
pendence that  await  them  on  the  other  side,  the 
impulse  to  play  traitor,  which  such  a  place  sug- 
gests to  dishonest  minds,  is  not  weakened.  But 
it  very  rarely  happens  that  the  men  who  do  de- 
eert  are  happy  and  contented  afterward ;  and 
ouny  instances  have  been  known  in  which  they 
have  confessed  their  grievous  disappointment, 
and  their  earnest  desire  to  return  to  their  old 
service,  if  they  could  but  be  assured  of  pardon, 
or  of  lenient  treatment.  Many  of  their  com- 
rades, notwithstanding,  do  the  like  from  time  to 
time ;  and  instances  of  loss  of  life,  in  the  eSbrt 
Co  cross  the  river  with  this  object,  are  far  from 
being  uncommon.  Several  men  were  drowned 
in  the  attempt  to  swim  across  not  long  ago ; 
and  one,  who  had  the  madness  to  trust  himself 
upon  a  table  as  a  raft,  was  swept  down  to  the 
whirlpool,  where  his  mangled  body  eddied  round 
and  round  some  days. 

I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  noise  of  the 
Falls  is  very  much  exaggerated ;  and  this  will 
appear  the  more  probable  when  the  depth  of  the 
great  basin,  in  which  the  water  is  received,  is 
taken  into  account.  At  no  time  during  our 
atay  here  was  the  wind  at  all  high  or  boisterous, 
but  we  never  heard  them  three  miles  off,  even  at 
the  very  quiet  time  of  ^unset,  though  we  often 
tried. 

Queenston,  at  which  place  the  steamboats 
start  for  Toronto  (or,  I  should  rather  say,  at 
which  place  they  call,  for  their  wharf  is  at  Lew- 
iston,  on  the  opposite  shore),  is  situated  in  a 
dehcious  valley,  through  which  the  Niagara 
river,  in  colour  a  very  deep  green,  pursues  its 
course.  It  is  approached  by  a  road  that  takes  its 
winding  way  among  the  heights  by  which  the 


town  is  sheltered  ;  and,  seen  from  this  point,  is 
extremely  beautiful  and  picturesque.  On  the 
most  conspicuous  of  these  heights  stood  a  mon- 
ument erected  by  the  provincial  legislature  in 
memory  of  General  Brock,  who  was  slain  in  a 
battle  with  the  Amercan  forces,  after  having 
won  the  victory.  Some  vagabond,  supposed  to 
be  a  fellow  of  the  name  of  Lett,  who  is  now,  or 
who  lately  was  in  prison  as  a  felon,  blew  up 
this  monument  two  years  ago,  and  it  is  now  a 
melancholy  ruin,  with  a  long  fragment  of  iron 
railing  hanging  dejectedly  from  its  top,  and 
waving  to  and  fro  like  a  wild  ivy  branch  or  bro- 
ken vine  stem.  It  is  of  much  higher  importance 
than  it  may  seem  that  this  statue  should  be  re- 
paired at  the  public  cost,  as  it  ought  to  have 
been  long  ago.  Firstly,  because  it  is  beneath 
the  dignity  of  England  to  allow  a  memorial 
raised  in  honour  of  one  of  her  defenders  to  re- 
main in  this  condition  on  the  very  spot  where 
he  died.  Secondly,  because  the  sight  of  it  in 
its  present  state,  and  the  recollection  of  the  un- 
punished outrage  which  brought  it  to  this  pass, 
is  not  very  likely  to  soothe  down  border  feelings 
among  English  subjects  here,  or  compose  their 
border  quarrels  and  dislikes. 

I  was  standing  on  the  wharf  at  this  place, 
watching  the  passengers  embarking  in  a  steam- 
boat, which  precedwl  that  whose  coming  we 
awaited,  and  participating  in  the  anxiety  with 
which  a  sergeant's  wife  was  collecting  her  few 
goods  together — keeping  one  distracted  eye  hard 
upon  the  porters,  who  were  hurrying  them  on 
board,  and  the  other  on  a  hoopless  washing-tub, 
for  which,  as  being  the  most  utterly  worthless 
of  all  her  movable*,  she  seemed  to  entertain 
particular  affection — ^when  three  or  four  soldiers 
with  a  recruit  came  «p,  and  went  on  board. 

The  recruit  was  a  likely  yoang  fellow  enough, 
strongly  built  and  vrtH  made,  but  by  no  means 
sober ;  indeed  he  had  all  the  air  of  a  man  who 
had  been  more  or  less  drunk  for  some  days.  He 
carried  a  small  bundle  over  bis  shoulder,  slung 
at  the  end  of  a  walking-stiek,  and  had  a  short 
pipe  in  his  mouth.  He  was  as  dusty  and  dirty 
as  recruits  usually  are,  and  his  shoes  betokened 
that  he  had  travelled  on  ibot  some  distance ;  but 
he  was  in  a  very  jocose  state,  and  shook  bands 
with  this  soldier,  and  elapped  that  one  on  the 
back,  and  talked  and  laughed  continually,  like  a 
roaring  idle  dog  as  he  was. 

The  soMiers  rather  knghed  at  this  blade  than 
with  him ;  seeming  to  say,  as  they  stood  straight- 
ening their  canes  in  their  hands,  and  looking 
oooly  at  him  over  their  glazed  stocks,  "  Go  on, 
my  boy,  while  you  may !  you'll  know  better  by- 
aiiid-by ;"  when  suddenly  the  novice,  who  had 
been  backing  towards  the  gangway  in  his  noisy 
merriment,  fell  overboard  before  their  eyes,  and 
splashed  heavily  down  into  the  river  between 
the  vessel  and  the  dock. 

I  never  saw  such  a  good  thing  as  the  change 
that  came  over  these  soldiers  in  an  instant.  Al- 
most before  the  man  was  down,  their  profes- 
sional manner,  their  stiffness  and  constraint, 
were  gone,  and  they  were  filled  with  the  most 
violent  energy.  In  less  time  than  is  required  to 
tell  it,  they  had  him  out  again,  feet  first,  with 
the  tails  of  his  coat  flapping  over  his  eyes,  every- 
thing about  him  hanging  the  wrong  way,  and 
the  water  streaming  off  at  every  thread  in  his 
threadbare  dress.    But  the  moment  they  set 


TB 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


him  npright,  and  foand  that  he  waa  none  the 
worse,  they  were  soldien  again,  looking  orer 
their  glaied  atocks  more  compoaedly  than  erer. 

The  half-sobered  recruit  glanced  round  for  a 
moment,  as  if  his  first  impulse  were  to  express 
some  gratitude  for  his  preservation ;  but  seeing 
them  with  this  air  of  total  unconcern,  and  having 
his  wet  pipe  presented  to  him,  with  an  oath,  by 
the  soldier  who  had  been  by  far  the  DMWt  anx- 
ious of  the  party,  he  stuck  it  in  his  mouth,  thrust 
his  hands  into  his  moist  pockets,  and  without 
even  shaking  the  water  off  his  ckithea,  walked 
on  board  whistling ;  not  to  say  as  if  nothing  had 
happened,  but  as  if  he  had  meant  to  do  it,  and  it 
had  been  a  perfect  success. 

Our  steamboat  came  up  directly  this  had  left 
the  whrrf,  and  soon  bore  us  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Niagara,  where  the  stars  and  stripes  of  America 
fluttter  on  one  side,  and  the  Union  Jack  of  Eng- 
land on  the  other ;  and  so  narrow  ia  the  space 
between  them  that  the  sentinels  in  either  fort 
can  often  hear  the  watchword  of  the  other 
country  given.  Thence  we  emerged  on  Lake 
Ontario,  an  inland  sea,  and  by  half  past  6  o'clock 
were  at  Toronto. 

The  country  round  this  town  being  very  flat, 
is  bare  of  scenic  interest ;  but  the  town  itself  is 
full  of  life  and  motion,  bustle,  bussiness,  and  im- 
provement. The  streets  are  well  paved,  and 
lighted  with  gas ;  the  houses  are  large  and  good ; 
tte  shops  excellent.  Many  of  them  have  a  dis- 
play of  goods  in  their  windows,  such  as  may  be 
seen  in  thriving  county  towns  in  England ;  and 
there  are  some  which  would  do  no  discredit  to 
the  metropolis  itself  There  is  a  good  stone 
prison  here ;  and  there  are,  besides,  a  handsome 
church,  a  court-house,  public  offices,  many  com- 
modious private  residences,  and  a  government 
obserratoiy  for  noting  and  recording  the  mag- 
netic variations.  In  the  College  of  Upper  Oan- 
uda,  which  is  one  of  the  public  establishments 
of  the  city,  a  sound  education  in  every  depart- 
ment of  polite  learning  can  be  had,  at  a  very 
moderate  expense,  the  annual  charge  for  the  in- 
struction of  each  pupil  not  exceeding  nine  pounds 
ateriing.  It  haa  pretty  good  endovrments  in  the 
way  of  land,  and  is  a  valuable  and  useful  insti- 
tution. 

The  first  stone  of  a  new  college  had  been  laid 
but  a  few  day*  before,  by  the  Oovemor  General. 
It  will  be  a  handsome,  spacious  edifice,  ap- 
proached by  a  long  avenue,  which  is  already 
^nted  and  made  available  as  a  public  walk. 
The  town  is  well  adapted  for  wholesome  exer- 
cise at  all  seasons,  for  the  footways  in  the  thor- 
oughfares which  lie  beyOnd  the  principal  street, 
are  planked  like  floors,  and  kept  in  very  good 
and  clean  repair. 

It  is  matter  of  deep  regret  that  political  difler- 
ences  should  have  run  high  in  this  place,  and 
led  to  most  discreditable  and  disgraceful  results. 
It  is  not  long  since  gnns  were  discharged  from 
a  window  in  this  town  at  the  successful  candi- 
dates in  an  election,  and  the  coachman  of  one 
of  them  was  actually  shot  in  the  body,  though 
not  dangerously  wounded.  But  one  man  was 
killed  on  the  same  occasion ;  and  from  the  very 
window  whence  he  receiv  d  his  death,  the  very 
flag  which  shielded  his  mu  Jerer  (not  only  in  the 
commission  of  his  crime,  but  from  its  conse- 
quences), was  displayed  again  on  the  occasion 
of  the  puUic  ceremony  performed  by  the  gov- 


ernor general,  to  which  I  have  jnst  adverted.  01 
all  the  colours  in  the  rainbow,  there  is  but  one 
which  could  be  so  employed ;  I  need  not  say  that 
flag  was  orange. 

The  time  of  leaving  Toronto  for  Kingston,  i» 
noon.  By  8  o'clock  next  morning  the  traveller 
is  at  the  end  of  his  journey,  which  is  performed 
by  steamboat  upon  Lake  Ontario,  calling  at  Port 
Hope  and  Coburg,  the  latter  a  cheerful  thriving 
little  town.  Vast  quantities  of  flour  form  the 
chief  item  in  the  freight  of  these  vessels.  We 
had  no  fewer  than  one  thousand  and  eighty  bar- 
rels on  board  between  Coburg  and  Kingston. 

The  latter  place,  which  is  now  the  seat  of 
government  in  Caiiada,  ia  a  very  poor  town, 
rendered  still  poorer  in  the  appearance  of  it* 
market-place  by  the  ravages  of  a  recent  fire. 
Indeed,  it  may  be  said  of  Kingston,  that  one  half 
of  it  appears  to  be  burned  down,  and  the  other 
half  not  to  be  buUt  up  The  Oovernmeot  House 
is  neither  elegant  nor  commodious,  yet  it  is  air 
most  the  only  house  of  any  importance  in  the 
neighbourhood. 

There  is  an  admirable  jail  here,  well  and 
wisely  governed,  and  excellently  regulated  in 
every  respect.  The  men  were  employed  as 
shoemakers,  ropemakers,  blacksmiths,  tailors, 
carpenters,  and  stonecutters,  and  in  building  a 
new  prison,  which  was  pretty  far  advanced  to- 
wards completion.  Tho  female  prisoners  were 
occupied  in  needlework.  Among  them  was  a 
beautiful  girl  of  twenty,  who  had  been  there 
nearly  three  years.  She  acted  as  bearer  of  se- 
cret despatches  for  the  self-styled  Patriots  on 
Navy  Island,  during  the  Canadian  insurrection, 
sometimes  dressing  as  a  girl,  and  carrying  them 
in  her  stays — sometimes  attiring  herself  as  a 
boy,  and  secreting  tliem  in  the  lining  of  her  hat. 
In  the  latter  character  she  always  rode  as  a  boy 
world,  which  was  nothing  to  her,  for  she  could 
govern  any  horse  that  any  man  could  ride,  and 
could  drive  four-in-hand  with  the  best  whip  in 
those  parts.  Setting  forth  on  one  of  her  patri- 
otic missions,  she  appropriated  to  herself  the 
firsr,  horse  she  could  lay  her  hands  on;  and  thi» 
oflTence  had  brought  her  where  I  saw  her.  She 
had  quite  a  lovely  face,  though,  aa  the  reader 
may  suppose  from  this  sketch  of  her  history, 
there  was  a  lurking  devil  in  her  bright  eye, 
which  looked  out  pretty  sharply  from  between 
her  prison  bars. 

There  is  a  bomb-proof  fort  here  of  great 
strength,  which  occupies  a  bold  position,  and  is 
capable,  doubtless,  of  doing  good  service ;  though 
the  town  is  much  too  close  upon  the  frontier  to 
belong  held,  I  should  imagine,  for  its  present 
purpose  in  troubled  times.  There  is  also  a  smalt 
navy-yard,  where  a  couple  of  government  steam- 
boats were  building,  and  getting  on  vigorously. 

We  left  Kingston  for  Montreal  on  the  tenth  of 
May,  at  half  past  nine  in  the  morning  and  pro- 
ceeded in  a  steamboat  down  the  St.  Lawrence 
River.  The  beauty  of  this  noble  stream  at  al- 
most any  point,  but  espedially  in  the  commence- 
ment of  this  journey,  when  it  winds  its  way 
among  the  thousand  islands,  can  hardly  be  im- 
agined. The  number  and  constant  succession 
of  these  islands,  all  green  and  richly  wooded — 
their  fluctuating  sizes,  some  so  large  that  for 
half  an  hour  together  one  among  them  will  ap- 
pear as  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river,  and  some 
so  small  that  they  are  mere  dimples  on  its  broad 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


ted.  Of 
but  one 
say  that 


bosom ;  their  infinite  variety  of  shapes,  and  the 
numberless  combinations  of  beautiful  forms 
which  the  trees  growing  on  them  present,  all 
form  a  picture  fraught  with  uncommon  interest 
and  pleasure. 

Id  the  afternoon  we  shot  down  some  rapids, 
where  the  river  boiled  and  bubbled  strangely, 
and  where  tlie  force  and  headlong  violence  of 
the  current  were  tremendous.  At  seven  o'clock 
we  reached  Dickenson's  Landing,  whence  trav- 
ellers proceed  for  two  or  three  hours  by  stage- 
coach, the  navigation  of  the  river  being  render- 
ed so  dangerous  and  difficult  in  the  interval,  by 
rapids,  that  steamboats  do  not  make  the  passage 
The  number  and  length  of  those  portages,  over 
which  the  roads  are  bad  and  the  travelhng  slow, 
render  the  way  between  the  towns  of  Montreal 
and  Kingston  somewhat  tedious. 

Our  course  lay  over  a  wide,  unenclosed  tract 
of  country  at  a  little  distance  from  tlie  river  side, 
whence  the  bright  warning  lights  on  the  danger- 
ous parts  of  the  St.  Lawrence  shone  vividly. 
The  night  was  dark  and  raw,  and  the  way  dreary 
enough.  It  was  nearly  ten  o'clock  when  we 
reached  the  wharf  where  the  next  steamboat 
lay,  and  went  on  board  and  to  bed. 

She  lay  there  all  night,  and  started  as  soon  as 
it  was  day.  The  morning  was  ushered  in  by  a 
violent  thunder-storm,  and  was  very  wet,  but 
gradually  unproved  and  brightened  up.  Going 
on  deck  alter  breakfast,  I  was  amazed  to  see, 
floating  down  with  the  stream,  a  most  gigantic 
raft,  with  some  thirty  or  forty  wooden  houses 
upon  it,  and  at  least  as  many  flag  masts,  bo  that 
it  looked  like  a  nautical  street.  I  saw  many  of 
these  rads  afterward,  but  never  one  so  large. 
All  the  timber,  or  "  lumber,"  as  it  is  called  in 
America,  which  is  brought  down  the  St.  Law- 
rence, is  floated  down  in  this  manner.  When 
the  rail  reaches  its  destination  it  is  broken  up, 
the  materials  are  sold,  and  the  boatmen  return 
liar  more. 

At  eight  we  landed  again,  and  travelled  by  a 
atage-coach  for  four  hours,  through  a  pleasant 
and  well-cultivated  country,  perfectly  French  in 
]9veiy  respect :  in  the  appeaiance  of  the  cottages, . 
the  air,  language,  and  dress  of  the  peasantry — 
the  aign-binrds  on  the  shops  and  taverns,  and 
til*  Virgin's  shrines  and  crosses  by  the  wayside. 
Neariy  every  common  labourer  and  boy,  though 
he  had  no  shoes  to  his  feet,  wore  round  his  waist 
a  sash  of  some  bright  colour,  generally  red ;  and 
the  women  who  were  working  in  the  fields  and 
gardens,  and  doing  all  kinds  of  husbandry,  wore, 
one  and  all,  great  flat  straw  hats  with  most  ca- 
pacious brims.  There  were  Catholic  prie;  and 
Bisters  of  charity  in  the  village  streets,  a.id  im- 
ages of  the  Saviour  at  the  corners  of  cross  roads 
and  in  other  public  places. 

At  noon  we  went  on  board  another  steamboat, 
and  reached  the  village  of  Lachine,  nine  miles 
from  Montreal,  by  three  o'clock.  There  we  left 
the  river,  and  went  on  by  land. 

Montreal  is  pleasantly  situated  on  the  margin 
of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  is  backed  by  some  bold 
heights,  about  which  there  are  charming  rides 
and  drives.  The  streets  are  generally  nar- 
row and  irregular,  as  in  most  French  towns 
of  any  age;  but  in  the  more  modem  parts 
of  the  city  they  are  wide  and  airy.  They  dis- 
play a  great  variety  of  very  good  shops,  and  both 
in  the  town  and  suburbs  there  are  many  excel- 
lent private  dwellings.    The  granite  quays  are 


remarkable  for  their  beauty,  solidity,  and  ex- 
tent. 

I'here  is  a  very  large  Catholic  cathedral  here, 
recently  erected,  with  two  tall  spirps,  of  which 
one  is  yet  unfinished.  In  the  open  space  in 
front  of  this  edifice  stands  a  solitary,  grim-look- 
ing, sauare  brick  tower,  which  has  a  quaint  and 
remarkable  appearance,  and  which  the  wiseacres 
of  the  place  have  consequently  determined  to 
pulldown  immedoK  I  y.  The  Government  House 
is  very  superior  to  that  at  Kingston,  and  the 
town  is  full  of  life  and  bustle.  In  one  of  the 
suburbs  is  a  plank  road — net  footpath — five  or 
six  miles  long,  and  a  famous  road  it  is  too.  AU 
the  rides  in  the  vicinity  were  made  doubly  in- 
teresting by  the  bursting  out  of  spring,  which  ia 
here  so  rapid,  that  it  is  but  a  day's  leap  from 
barren  winter  to  the  blooming  youth  of  summer. 

'The  steamboats  to  Quebec  perform  the  jour- 
ney in  the  night :  that  is  to  say,  they  leave  Mon- 
treal at  six  in  the  evening,  and  arrive  in  Quebec 
at  six  next  morning.  We  made  this  excursion 
during  our  stay  in  Montreal  (which  exceeded  a 
fortnight),  and  were  charmed  by  its  interest  and 
beauty. 

The  impression  made  upon  the  visiter  by  this 
Gibraltar  of  America — its  giddy  heights — its  cit- 
adel suspended,  as  it  were,  in  the  air — its  pic- 
turesque steep  streets  and  frowning  gateways, 
and  the  splendid  views  which  burst  upon  the 
eye  at  every  turn — is  at  once  unique  and  lasting. 
It  is  a  place  not  to  be  forgotten  or  mixed  up  in 
the  mind  with  other  places,  or  altered  for  a  mo- 
ment in  the  crowd  of  scenes  a  traveller  can  re- 
call. Apart  from  the  realities  of  this  most  pic- 
turesque city,  there  are  associations  clustering 
about  it  which  would  make  a  desert  rich  in  in- 
terest. The  dangerous  precipice  along  whose 
rocky  front  Wolfe  and  his  brave  corapaniona 
climbed  to  glory ;  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  where 
he  received  his  mortal  wound ;  the  fortress,  so 
chivalrously  defended  by  Montcalm ;  and  his  sol- 
dier's grave,  dug  for  him  while  yet  alive,  by  the 
bursting  of  a  shell,  are  not  the  least  among  them 
or  among  the  gallant  incidents  of  history.  Th-:.t 
is  a  noble  monument  too,  and  worthy  of  two 
great  nations,  which  perpetuates  the  memory  of 
both  brave  generals,  and  on  which  their  names 
are  jointly  written. 

The  city  is  rich  in  public  institutions  and  ia 
Catholic  churches  and  charities ;  but  it  is  main- 
ly in  the  prospect  from  the  site  of  the  Old  Gov- 
ernment House,  and  from  the  Citadel,  that  its 
surprising  beauty  lies.  The  exquisite  expanse 
of  country,  rich  in  field  and  forest,  mountain- 
height  and  water,  whiph  lies  stretched  out  be- 
fore the  view,  with  miles  of  Canadian  vL'^iges, 
glancing  in  long  whites  treaks,  like  veins,  along 
the  landscape ;  the  motley  crowd  of  gablee,  roofs, 
and  chimney  tops  in  the  old  hilly:town  immedi- 
ately at  hand ;  the  beautiful  St.  Lawrence  spark- 
ling and  flashing  in  the  sunlight ;  and  the  tiny 
ships  below  the  rock  from  which  you  gaze,  whose 
distant  riggiug  looks  like  spiders'  webs  against 
the  light,  while  casks  and  barrels  on  their  decks 
dwindle  into  toys,  and  busy  mariners  bocome  so 
many  puppets :  all  this,  framed  by  a  sunken  win- 
dow in  the  fortress  and  looked  at  from  the  shad- 
owed room  within,  forms  one  of  the  brightest 
and  most  enchanting  pictures  that  the  eye  can 
rest  upon. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  vast  numbers  of  emi 
grants  who  have  newly  arrived  from  England  oi 


n 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


from  Iralani,  ptM  betweon  Quebec  and  Mon- 
treal, on  their  way  to  the  bacV  wooda  and  new 
aettlementa  of  Cn«ada.  If  it  be  an  cntcitsining 
lounge  (aa  I  ve.y  often  (bund  it)  to  take  a  mc  m- 
ing  atroli  upon  the  may  at  Montreal,  and  aee 
them  grouped  tn  hundreda  on  the  public  wharfa, 
about  their  oheata  and  boxea,  it  is  matter  of  deep 
intereat  to  be  their  fellow-pasaenger  on  one  of 
these  ateamboata,  and,  mingling  with  the  con- 
course, aee  and  hear  them  unobserved. 

The  veasel  in  which  we  returned  from  Quebec 
to  Montreal  was  crowded  with  them,  and  at  night 
they  apread  their  beda  between  decks  (those  who 
had  beda,  at  leaat,)  and  alept  ao  close  and  thick 
about  our  cabin  door,  that  the  passage  to  and 
fro  waa  quite  blocked  up.  Tiiey  were  nearly  all 
Engliah— from  Gloucestershire  the  greater  part, 
and  had  had  a  long  winter  passage  out ;  but  it 
was  wonderful  to  see  how  clean  the  children 
had  been  kept,  and  how  untiring  in'  their  love 
and  aelf-deniai  all  the  poor  parenta  were. 

Cant  as  we  may,  and  as  we  shall  to  the  end 
of  all  things,  it  is  very  much  harder  for  the  poor 
to  be  virtuous  than  it  ia  for  the  rich ;  and  the 
good  that  ia  in  them  shines  the  brighter  for  it. 
In  many  a  noUe  manaion  Uvea  a  man,  the  best 
of  husbaada  and  of  fathers,  whose  private  worth 
in  both  capacities  ia  justly  lauded  to  the  skies. 
But  bring  him  here,  upon  this  crowded  deck. 
Strip  from  bis  fair  young  wife  her  silken  dress 
and  jewels,  unbind  her  braided  hair,  stamp  early 
wrinkles  on  her  brow,  pinch  her  pale  cheek  with 
care  and  much  privation,  array  her  faded  form 
in  coarsely  patched  attire,  let  there  be  nothing 
but  hia  love  to  set  her  forth  or  deck  her  out,  and 
you  shall  put  it  to  the  proof  indeed.  So  change 
hia  station  in  the  world  that  he  shall  see  in  those 
young  things  who  climb  about  his  knee  not  rec- 
orda  of  his  wealth  and  name,  but  little  wrest- 
lers with  him  for  his  daily  bread,  so  many  poach- 
ers on  his  scanty  meal,  ao  many  units  to  divide 
his  every  sum  of  comfort,  and  farther  to  reduce 
its  small  amount.  In  lieu  of  the  endearments 
of  childhood  in  its  aweetest  aspect,  heap  upon 
him  all  its  pains  and  wants,  its  sicknesses  and 
ills,  its  fretfulness,  caprice,  and  querulous  en- 
durance; let  ita  prattle  be  not  of  engaging  in- 
fant fancies,  but  of  cold,  and  thirst,  and  hunger ; 
and  if  his  fatherly  aflection  outlive  all  this,  and 
be  be  patient,  watchful,  tender,  careful  of  his 
children's  lives  and  mindful  always  of  their  joys 
and  aorrowa — then  send  him  back  to  parliament, 
and  pulpit,  and  to  quarter  aessions,  and  when  he 
hears  fine  talk  of  the  depravity  of  those  who  live 
from  hand  to  mouth,  and  labour  hard  to  do  it, 
let  him  speak  up,  as  one  who  knows,  and  tell 
thoae  holders  forth  that  they,  by  parallel  with 
auch  a  class,  should  be  high  angels  in  their  daily 
lives,  and  lay  but  humble  sieg6  to  Heaven  at  last. 

Which  of  us  shall  say  what  he  would  be,  if 
aach  realities,  with  smtdl  relief  or  change  all 
through  his  days,  were  his !  Looking  round 
upon  these  people ;  far  from  home,  houseless, 
indigent,  wandering,  weary  with  travel  and  hard 
living ;  and  seeing  how  patiebtly  they  nursed 
and  tended  their  young  children ;  how  they  con- 
sulted ever  their  wants  first,  then  half  supplied 
their  own  ;  what  gentle  ministers  of  hope  and 
faith  the  women  were ;  how  the  men  profited  by 
their  example ;  and  how  very,  very  seldom  even 
a  moment's  petulance  or  harsh  complaint  broke 
out  among  them ;  I  felt  a  stronger  love  and 


boaoar  of  my  kind  eome  glowing  on  my  heart, 
and  wiahed  to  God  there  had  t>een  many  Athe- 
ista  in  the  better  part  of  human  nature  there,  to 
read  with  me  thia  airopie  lesson  in  the  book  of 
yfe. 


We  left  Montreal  for  New  York  again,  on  the 
thirtieth  of  May ;  eroasing  to  La  Prairie,  on  the 
opposite  shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  in  a  steam- 
boat ;  we  then  took  the  railroad  to  St.  John's, 
which  ia  on  the  brink  of  Lake  Champlain.  Our 
last  greeting  in  Canada  was  from  the  English 
officers  in  the  pleasant  banacka  at  that  place  {m 
daaa  of  gentlemen  who  had  made  every  hour  of 
our  visit  memorable  by  their  hospitality  and 
friendship) ;  and  with  "  Rule  Britannia  "  aound- 
ing  in  our  ears,  soon  left  it  far  behind. 

But  Canada  haa  held,  and  always  will  retain  • 
foremost  place  in  my  remembrance.  Few  Enr- 
liahmen  are  prepared  to  find  it  what  it  ia.  Ad* 
vaneing  quietly ;  old  diflferences  settling  down, 
and  being  fast  forgotten  ;  public  feeling  and 
private  enterprise  alike  in  a  sound  and  whole- 
some state ,  nothing  of  flush  or  fever  in  its  sys- 
tem, but  health  and  vigour  throbbing  in  its  steady 
pulse :  it  is  full  of  hope  and  promise.  To  me — 
who  had  been  accustomed  to  think  of  it  aa 
aomething  left  behind  in  tbeatrides  of  advancing 
society,  as  something  neglected  and  forgotten, 
slumbering  and  wasting  in  its  sloep— the  demand 
for  labour  and  the  rates  of  wages ;  the  busy 
quaya  of  Montreal ;  the  vessels  taking  in  their 
cargoes,  and  discharging  them ;  the  amount  of 
shipping  in  the  different  ports ;  the  commerce, 
roads,  and  public  works,  all  made  to  last ;  the 
respectability  and  character  of  the  public  jour- 
nals ;  and  the  amount  of  rational  comfort  and 
happiness  which  honest  industry  ifiay  earn; 
were  very  great  surprises.  The  steamboats  on 
the  lakes,  in  their  conveniences,  cleanliness,  and 
safety ;  in  the  gentlemanly  character  and  bear- 
ing of  their  captains:  and  in  the  politeness  and 
perfectcomfort  of  their  social  regulations;  are 
unsurpassed  even  by  the  famous  Scotch  vessels, 
deservedly  so  much  esteemed  at  home.  The 
inns  are  usually  bad ;  because  the  custom  of 
boarding  at  hotels  is  not  so  general  here  as  in 
the  States,  and  the  British  ofRcers,  who  form 
a  large  portion  of  the  society  of  every  town, 
live  chiefly  at  the  regimental  messes;  but  in 
every  other  respect,  the  traveller  in  Canada  will 
find  as  good  provision  for  his  comfort  as  in  any 
place  I  know. 

There  is  one  American  boat — ^the  vessel  which 
carried  us  on  Lake  Champlain,  from  St.  John'a 
to  Whitehall — which  I  praise  very  highly,  but  no 
more  than  it  deserves,  when  I  say  that  it  is  su- 
perior even  to  that  in  which  we  went  from 
Queenston  to  Toronto,  or  to  that  in  which  we 
travelled  from  the  latter  place  to  Kingston,  or  I 
have  no  doubt  I  may  add,  to  any  other  in  the 
world.  This  steamboat,  which  is  called  the 
Burlington,  is  a  perfectly  exquisite  achievement 
of  neatness,  elegance,  and  order.  The  decks  are 
drawing-rooms ;  the  cabins  are  boudoirs,  choice- 
ly furnished  and  adorned  with  prints,  pictures, 
and  musical  instruments ;  every  nook  and  corner 
in  the  vessel  is  a  perfect  curiosity  of  graceful 
comfort  and  beautiful  contrivance.  Captain 
Sherman,  her  commander,  to  whose  ingenuity 
and  excellent  taste  these  results  are  solely  attrib- 
utable, haa  bravely  and  worthily  distinguished 


n 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


ijr  hearty 

ny  Athe> 

there,  to 

book  of 


himself  on  more  than  one  trying  occasion  ;  not 
least  amonir  thi*m,  in  having  the  moral  courage 
to  carry  British  troops,  at  a  lime  (diirinj^  the 
Canadian  rehplllon)  when  no  other  conveynnnc 
was  open  to  tliRm.  He  and  his  vessel  are  held 
in  universal  respect,  both  by  his  own  country- 
men and  ours;  and  no  man  ever  enjoyed  the 
popular  e'^tt'em.  who,  in  his  sphere  of  action, 
'-'ini  nnd  wore  it  better  than  this  gentleman. 

By  means  of  this  floating  palace  we  were  soon 
in  the  United  States  again,  and  called  that  even- 
ing .it  Burlington ;  a  pretty  town,  where  we  lay 
an  hour  or  so.  We  reached  Whitehall,  where 
we  were  to  disembark,  at  six  next  morning ;  and 
might  have  done  so  earlier,  but  that  these  steam- 
boats lie  by  for  some  hours  in  the  night,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  lake  becoming  rery  narrow  at 
that  part  of  the  journey,  and  difficult  of  naviga- 
tion in  the  dark.  Its  width  is  so  contracted  at 
one  point,  indeed,  that  they  are  obliged  to  warp 
round  by  means  of  a  rope. 

After  breakfasting  at  Whitehall,  we  took  the 
stage-coach  fur  Albany :  a  large  and  busy  town, 
where  we  arrived  between  five  and  six  o'clock 
that  afternoon,  after  a  very  hot  day's  journey, 
for  we  were  now  in  the  height  of  summer  again. 
At  seven  we  started  for  New- York  on  board  a 
great  North  River  steamboat,  which  was  so 
crowded  with  passengers  that  the  upper  deck 
was  like  the  box  lobby  of  a  theatre  between  the 

Sieces,  and  the  lower  one  like  Tottenham  Court 
load  on  a  Saturday  night.  But  we  slept  soundly, 
notwithstanding,  and  soon  after  five  o'clock  next 
morning,  reached  New- York. 

Tarrying  here  only  that  day  and  night  to  re- 
cruit after  our  late  fatigues,  we  started  ofT  once 
more  upon  our  last  journey  in  America.  We 
had  yet  five  days  to  spare  before  embarking  for 
England,  and  I  had  a  great  desire  to  see  "  the 
Shaker  Village,"  which  is  peopled  by  a  reli- 
gious sect  from  whom  it  takes  its  name. 

To  this  end  we  went  up  the  North  River 
again,  as  far  as  the  town  of  Hudson,  and  there 
hired  an  extra  to  carry  us  to  Lebanon,  thirty 
miles  distant :  and  of  course  another  and  a  dif- 
ferent Lebanon  from  that  village  where  I  slept 
on  the  night  of  the  prairie  trip. 

The  country  through  which  the  road  mean- 
dered was  rich  and  beautiful ;  the  weather  very 
fine ;  and  for  many  miles  the  Caatskill  Mount- 
ains, where  Rip  Van  Winkle  and  the  ghastly 
Dutchmen  played  at  ninepins  one  memorable 
gusty  afternoon,  towered  in  the  blue  distance 
like  stately  clouds.  At  one  point,  as  we  as- 
cended a  steep  hill,  athwart  whose  base  a  rail- 
road, yet  constructing,  took  its  course,  we  came 
apon  an  Irish  colony.  With  means  at  hand  of 
building  decent  cabins,  it  was  wonderful  to  see 
how  clumsy,  rough,  and  wretched,  its  hovels 
were.  The  best  were  poor  protection  from  the 
weather;  the  worst  let  in  the  wind  and  rain 
through  wide  breaches  in  the  roofs  of  sodden 
grass,  and  in  the  walls  of  mud ;  some  had  nei- 
ther door  nor  window ;  some  had  nearly  fallen 
down,  and  were  imperfectly  propped  up  by 
■takes  and  poles;  all  were  ruinous  and  filthy. 
Hideously  ugly  old  women  and  very  buxom 
young  ones,  pigs,  dogs,  men,  children,  babies, 
pots,  kettles,  dunghills,  vile  refuse,  rank  straw, 
and  standing  water,  all  wallowing  together  in 
an  inseparable  heap,  composed  the  furniture  of 
every  dark  and  dirty  hut. 


Between  nine  and  ten  o'clock  at  night  wo  ar- 
rived at  I^banon :  which  is  renowned  for  its 
warm  baths,  and  for  a  great  hotel,  well  adapted, 
I  have  no  doubt,  to  the  gregarious  taste  of  those 
seekers  after  health  or  pleasure  who  repair  here, 
but  inexpi  •  iibly  comfortless  to  me.  Wc  wero 
shown  into  an  immense  apartment,  lighted  by 
two  dim  candlos,  called  the  drawing-room,  from 
which  there  was  a  descent  by  a  flight  of  steps 
to  another  vast  desert  called  the  dining-room : 
our  bed-chambers  were  anwng  certain  Ions  rows 
of  little  whitewashed  cells,  which  opened  from 
either  side  of  a  dreary  passage ;  and  were  so 
like  rooms  in  a  prison  that  1  half  expected  to  be 
locked  up  when  I  went  to  bed,  and  listened  in- 
voluntarily for  the  turning  of  the  key  on  the  out- 
side. There  need  be  baths  somewhere  in  the 
neighbourhood,  for  the  other  washing  arrange- 
ments were  on  as  limited  a  scale  as  I  ever  saw, 
even  in  America :  indeed,  these  bed-rooms  were 
so  very  bare  of  even  such  common  luxuries  as 
chairs,  that  I  should  say  they  were  not  provided 
with  enough  of  anything,  but  that  I  bethink  my- 
self of  our  having  been  most  bountifully  bitten 
all  night. 

The  house  is  very  pleasantly  situated,  how- 
ever, and  we  had  a  good  breakfast.  That  done, 
we  went  to  visit  our  place  of  destination,  which 
was  some  two  miles  ofl^,  and  the  way  to  which 
was  soon  indicated  by  a  finger- post,  whereon 
was  painted  "  To  the  Shaker  Village." 

As  we  rode  along  we  passed  a  party  of  Sha- 
kers, who  were  at  work  upon  the  road ;  who 
wore  the  broadest  of  all  broad-brimmed  hats  ; 
and  were  in  all  visible  respects  such  very  wood- 
en men,  that  I  felt  about  as  much  sympathy  for 
them,  and  as  much  interest  in  them,  as  if  they 
had  been  so  many  figure-heads  of  ships.  Pres- 
ently we  came  to  the  beginning  of  the  village, 
and  alighting  at  the  door  of  the  house  where  the 
Shaker  manufactures  are  sold,  and  which  is  the 
bead-quarters  of  the  elders,  requested  permis- 
sion to  see  the  Shaker  worship. 

Pending  the  conveyance  of  this  request  to 
some  person  in  authority,  we  walked  into  a  grim 
room,  where  several  grim  hats  were  hanging  on 
grim  pegs,  and  the  time  was  grimly  told  by  a 
grim  clock,  which  uttered  evey  tick  with  a  kind 
of  struggle,  as  if  it  broke  the  grim  silence  re- 
luctantly, and  under  protest.  Ranged  against 
the  wall  were  six  or  eight  stifl;  high-backed 
chairs,  and  they  partook  so  strongly  of  the  gen- 
eral grimness,  that  one  would  much  rather  have 
sat  on  the  floor  than  incurred  the  smallest  ob< 
ligation  to  any  of  them. 

Presently  there  stalked  into  this  apartment  a 
grim  old  Shaker,  with  eyes  as  hard,  and  dull, 
and  cold,  as  the  great  round  metal  buttons  on 
his  coat  and  waistcoat :  a  sort  of  calm  goblin. 
Being  informed  of  our  desire,  he  produced  a 
newspaper  wherin  the  body  of  elders,  whereof 
he  was  a  member,  had  advertised  but  a  few 
days  before,  that  in  consequence  of  certain  un- 
seemly interruptions  which  their  worship  had 
received  from  strangers,  their  chapel  was  closed 
to  the  public  for  the  space  of  one  year. 

As  nothing  was  to  be  urged  in  opposition  to 
this  reasonable  arrangement,  we  requested  leave 
to  make  some  trifling  purchases  of  Shaker 
goods,  which  was  grimly  conceded.  We  ao- 
cordingly  repaired  to  a  store  in  the  same  house 
and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  passage,  where 


«0 


NOTES  ON  AMERICJL 


the  stock  was  presided  over  by  something  alive 
in  a  russet  case,  which  the  elder  said  was  a 
woman;  and  which  I  suppose  toat  a  woman. 
Chough  I  should  not  have  suspected  it. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  road  was  their 
place  of  worship :  a  cool,  clean  edifice  of  wood, 
with  large  windows  and  green  blinds :  like  a 
spacious  summer-house.  As  there  was  no  get- 
ting into  this  place,  and  nothing  was  to  be  done 
but  walk  up  and  down,  and  look  at  it  and  the 
other  buildings  iii  the  village  (which  were  chiefly 
of  wood,  painted  a  dark  red  like  English  barns, 
and  composed  of  many  stories  like  English  fac- 
tories), I  have  nothing  to  communicate  to  the 
reader,  beyond  the  scanty  results  I  gleaned  the 
while  our  purchases  were  making.  These  peo- 
ple are  called  Shakers  from  their  peculiar  form 
of  adorat'on,  which  consists  of  a  dance,  perform- 
ed by  the  men  and  women  of  all  ages,  who  ar- 
range themselves  for  that  purpose  in  opposite 
parties :  the  men  first  divesting  themselves  of 
their  hats  and  coats,  which  they  gravely  hang 
against  the  wall  before  they  begin ;  and  tying 
a  riband  round  their  shirt  sleeves,  as  though 
they  were  going  to  be  bled.  They  accompany 
themselves  with  a  droning,  humming  noise,  and 
dance  until  they  are  quite  exhausted,  alternately 
advancing  and  retiring  in  a  preposterous  sort  of 
trot.  The  effect  is  said  to  be  unspeakably  ab- 
surd :  and  if  I  may  judge  from  a  print  of  this 
ceremony  which  I  have  in  my  possession,  and 
which  I  am  informed  by  those  who  have  visited 
the  chapel,  is  perfectly  accurate,  it  must  be  in- 
finitely grotesque. 

They  are  governed  by  a  woman,  and  her  rule 
is  understood  to  be  ab''>olute,  though  she  has 
the  assistance  of  a  council  of  elders.  She  lives, 
it  is  said,  in  strict  seclusion,  in  certain  rooms 
above  the  chapel,  and  is  never  shown  to  pro- 
ftne  eyes.  I(  she  at  all  resembled  the  lady  who 
presided  over  the  store,  it  is  a  great  charity  to 
keep  her  as  close  as  possible,  and  I  cannot  too 
strongly  express  my  perfect  concurrence  in  this 
benevolent  proceeding. 

All  the  possessions  and  revenues  of  the  set- 
tlement are  thrown  into  a  common  stock,  which 
is  managed  by  the  elders.  As  they  have  made 
converts  among  people  who  were  well  to  do  in 
the  world,  and  are  iV-ugal  and  thrifty^  it  is  under- 
stood that  this  fund  prospers :  the  more  espe- 
cially as  they  have  made  large  purchases  of  land. 
Nor  is  this  at  Lebanon  the  only  Shaker  settle- 
ment :  there  are,  I  think,  at  least,  three  others. 

They  are  good  fanners,  and  all  their  produce 
is  eagerly  purchased  and  highly  esteemed. 
•♦  Shaker  seeds,"  "  Shaker  herbs,"  and  "  Shaker 
distilled  waters,"  are  commonly  announced  for 
sale  in  the  shops  of  towns  and  cities.  They 
are  good  b.CwJers  of  cattle,  and  are  kind  and 
merciful  to  the  brute  creation.  Consequently, 
Shaker  beasts  seldom  fail  to  find  a  ready  market. 

They  eat  and  drink  together,  after  the  Spar- 
tan model,  at  a  great  public  table.  There  is  no 
union  of  the  sexes ;  and  every  Shaker,  male  and 
female,  is  devoted  to  a  life  of  celibacy.  Ru- 
mour has  been  busy  upon  this  theme,  but  here 
again  I  must  refer  to  the  lady  of  the  store,  and 
say,  that  if  many  of  the  sister  Shakers  resemble 
her,  I  treat  all  such  slander  as  bearing  on  its 
face  the  strongest  marks  of  wild  improbability. 
But  that  tlioy  take  as  proselytes,  persons  so 
young  that  they  cannot  knuw  their  own  minds,, 


and  cannot  possess  much  strength  of  resolution 
in  this  or  any  other  respect,  I  can  assert  from 
my  own  observation  of  the  extreme  juvenility 
of  certain  youthful  Shaker*  whom  I  saw  at 
work  among  the  party  on  the  road. 

They  are  said  to  be  good  drivers  of  bargains, 
but  to  be  honest  and  just  in  their  transactions, 
and  even  in  horse-dealing  to  resist  those  thiev- 
ish lendencies  which  would  seem,  for  some  un- 
discovered reason,  to  be  almost  inseparable 
from  that  branch  of  trafilc.  In  all  matters  they 
hold  their  own  course  quietly,  live  in  their 
gloomy,  silent  commonwealth,  and  show  little 
desire  to  interfere  with  other  people. 

This  is  well  enough,  but  nevertheless  I  can- 
not, I  confess,  incline  towards  the  Shakers; 
view  them  with  much  favour,  or  extend  towards 
them  any  very  lenient  construction.  I  so  ab- 
hor, and  from  my  soul  detest  that  bad  spirit,  no 
matter  by  what  class  or  sect  it  may  be  enter- 
tained, which  would  strip  life  of  it?  healthful 
graces,  rob  youth  of  its  innocent  pleasures, 
pluck  from  maturity  and  age  their  pleasant  or- 
naments, and  make  existence  but  a  narrow  path 
towards  the  grave  :  that  odious  spirit  which,  if 
it  could  have  had  full  scope  and  sway  upon  the 
earth,  must  have  blasted  and  made  barren  the 
imaginations  of  the  greatest  men,  and  left  them, 
in  their  power  of  raising  up  enduring  images  be- 
fore their  fellow  creatures  yet  unborn,  no  better 
than  the  beasts :  that,  in  these  very  broad-brim- 
med hats  and  very  sombre  coats — in  stifl?'neck- 
ed,  solemn-visaged  piety,  in  s>.ort,  no  matter 
what  its  garb,  whether  it  have  cropped  hair  as 
in  a  Shaker  village,  or  long  nails  as  in  a  Hin- 
doo temple — I  recognise  the  worst  among  the 
enemies  of  Heaven  and  Earth,  who  turn  the 
water  at  the  marriage  feasts  of  this  poor  world 
not  into  wine,  but  gall.  And  if  there  must  be 
people  vowed  to  crush  the  harmless  fancies  and 
the  love  of  innocent  .lelights  and  gayeties,  which 
are  a  part  of  human  nature :  as  much  a  part  of 
it  as  any  other  love  or  hope  that  is  our  com- 
mon portion :  let  them,  for  me,  stand  openly  re- 
Tealed  among  the  ribald  and  licentious ;  the 
very  idiots  know  that  they  are  not  on  the  Im- 
mortal road,  and  will  despise  them,  and  avoid 
them  readily. 

Leaving  the  Shaker  village  with  a  hearty  dis- 
like of  the  old  Shakers,  and  a  hearty  pity  for  the 
young  ones :  tempered  by  the  strong  probability 
of  their  runniag  away  as  they  grow  older  and 
wiser,  which  they  not  unconunonly  do :  we  re- 
turned to  Lebanon,  and  so  to  Hudson,  by  the 
way  we  had  come  upon  the  previous  day. 
There,  we  took  steamboat  down  the  North 
River  towards  New- York,  but  stopped,  some 
four  hours'  journey  short  of  it,  at  West  Point, 
where  we  remained  that  night,  and  all  next 
day,  and  next  night  too. 

In  this  beautiihl  place :  the  fairest  among  the 
fair  and  lovely  Highlands  of  the  North  River : 
shut  in  by  deep  green  heights  and  ruined  forts, 
and  looking  down  upon  the  distant  town  of 
Newburgh,  along  a  glittering  path  of  sunlit  wa- 
ter, with  here  and  there  a  skiflT,  whose  white 
sail  often  bends  on  some  new  tack  as  sudden 
flaws  of  wind  come  down  upon  her  from  the  gul- 
lies in  the  hills :  hemmed  in,  besides,  all  round 
with  memories  of  Washington,  and  events  of 
the  revolutionary  war :  is  the  Military  School 
of  America. 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


81 


It  bonld  not  stand  on  more  appropriate  ground, 
and  any  ground  more  beautiful  can  hanlly  be. 
The  course  of  education  is  severe,  but  well- 
tlevised,  and  manly.  Through  June,  July,  and 
August,  the  young  men  encamp  upon  the  spa- 
cious plain  whereon  the  college  stands ;  and  all 
the  year  their  military  exercises  are  performed 
there  daily.  The  term  of  study  at  this  institu- 
tion, which  the  State  requires  from  all  cadets, 
is  four  years ;  but  whether  it  be  from  the  rigid 
nature  of  the  discipline,  or  the  national  impa- 
tience of  restraint,  or  both  causes  combined, 
not  more  than  half  the  number  who  begin  their 
«tudies  here,  ever  remain  to  finish  them. 

The  number  of  cadets  being  about  equal  to 
that  of  the  members  of  Congress,  one  is  sent 
here  from  every  Congressional  district:  its 
member  influencing  the  selection.  Commis- 
sions in  the  service  are  distributed  on  the 
same  principle.  The  dwellings  of  tht  various 
.professors  are  beautifully  situated ;  and  there 
is  a  most  excellent  hotel  for  strangers,  though 
it  has  the  two  drawbacks  of  being  a  total  ab- 
stinence house  (wines  and  spirits  being  forbid- 
den to  the  students),  and  of  serving  the  public 
neals  at  rather  uncomfortable^ hours:  to  wit, 
1>reakfast  at  seven,  dinner  at  one,  and  supper  at 
cunset. 

The  beauty  and  freshness  of  this  calm  retreat, 
in  the  very  dawn  and  greenness  of  summer — it 
was  then  the  beginning  of  June — were  exquisite 
indeed.  Leaving  it  up(m  the  sixth,  and  return- 
ing to  New- York,  to  embark  for  England  on  the 
succeeding  day,  I  was  glad  to  think  that  among 
the  last  memorable  beauties  which  had  glided 
past  us,  and  softened  in  the  bright  perspective, 
were  those  whose  pictures,  traced  by  no  com- 
mon hand,  are  fresh  in  most  men's  minds :  not 
easily  to  grow  old,  or  fade  beneath  the  dust  of 
Time:  The  Caatskill  Mountains,  Sleepy  Hol- 
low, and  the  Tappaan  Zee. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  PA88A0B  HOMK. 

I NKVKR  had  SO  much  interest  before,  and  very 
likely  I  shall  never  have  so  much  interest  again, 
in  the  state  of  the  wind,  as  on  the  long-looked- 
Ibr  morning  of  Tuesday,  the  seventh  of  June. 
Some  nautical  authority  had  told  me  a  day  or 
two  previous,  "  anything  with  west  in  it,  will 
do ;"  so  when  I  darted  out  of  bed  at  daylight, 
and  throwing  up  the  window,  was  saluted  by  a 
lively  breeze  from  the  northwest  which  had 
«pning  up  in  the  night,  it  came  upon  me  so 
freshly,  rustling  with  so  many  happy  associa- 
tions, that  I  conceived  upon  the  spot  a  special 
regard  for  all  airs  blowing  from  that  quarter  of 
the  compass,  which  I  shall  cherish,  I  dare  say, 
until  my  own  wind  has  breathed  its  last  frail 
puff,  and  withdrawn  itself  forever  from  the  mor- 
tal calendar. 

The  pilot  had  not  been  slow  to  take  advan- 
tage of  this  favourable  weather,  and  the  ship 
which  yesterday  had  Iain  in  such  a  crowded 
dock  that  she  might  have  retired  from  trade 
for  good  and  all,  for  any  chanr*;  she  seemed  to 
have  of  going  to  sea,  was  now  full  sixteen  miles 
away.  A  gallant  sight  she  was,  when  we,  fast 
saining  on  her  in  a  steamboat,  saw  her  in  the 


distance  riding  at  anchor :  her  tall  masts  point- 
ing up  in  graceful  lines  against  the  sky,  and  ev- 
ery rope  and  spar  expressed  in  delicate  and 
thread-like  outline :  gallant,  too,  when  we,  be- 
ing all  aboard,  the  anchor  came  up  to  the  stfirdy 
chorus  "  Cheerily,  men,  oh  cheerily  !"  and  she 
followed  proudly  in  the  towing  steamboat's 
wake  :  but  bravest  and  most  gallant  of  all,  when 
the  tow-rope  being  cast  adrift,  the  canvass  flut- 
tered from  her  masts,  and,  spreading  her  white 
wings,  she  soared  away  upon  her  free  and  soli- 
i  ?ry  course. 

In  the  afler-cabin  we  were  only  fifteen  pas- 
sengers in  all,  and  the  greater  part  were  from 
Canada,  where  some  of  us  had  known  each  oth- 
er. The  night  was  rough  and  squally,  so  were 
the  next  two  days,  but  they  flew  by  quickly, 
and  we  were  soon  as  cheerful  and  as  snug  a 
party,  with  an  honest,  manly-heartgd  captain  at 
our  head,  as  ever  came  to  the  resolution  of  be- 
ing mutually  agreeable,  on  land  or  water. 

We  breakfasted  at  eight,  lunched  at  twelve, 
dined  at  three,  and  took  our  tea  at  half  past 
seven.  We  had  abundance  of  amusements,  and 
dinner  was  not  the  least  among  them  :  firstly, 
for  its  own  sake  ;  secondly,  because  of  its  ex- 
traordinary length  :  its  duration,  inclusive  of  all 
the  long  pauses  between  the  courses,  being  sel- 
dom less  than  two  hours  and  a  half;  which  was 
a  subject  of  never-failing  entertainment.  By 
way  of  beguiling  the  tedioasness  of  these  ban- 
quets, a  select  association  was  formed  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  table,  below  the  mast,  to  whose 
distinguished  president  modesty  forbids  me  to 
make  any  farther  allusion,  which,  being  a  very 
hilarious  and  jovial  institution,  was  (prejudice 
apart)  in  high  favour  with  the  rest  of  the  com- 
munity, and  particularly  with  a  black  steward, 
who  lived  for  three  weeks  in  a  broad  grin  at 
the  marvellous  humour  of  these  incorporated 
worthies. 

Then  we  had  chess  for  those  who  played  it^ 
whist,  cribbage,  books,  backgammon,  and  shov- 
el-board. In  all  weathers,  fair  or  foul,  calm  or 
windy,  we  were  every  one  on  deck,  walking  up 
and  down  in  pairs,  lying  in  the  boats,  leaning 
over  the  side,  or  chatting  in  a  lazy  group  to- 
gether. We  had  no  lack  of  music,  for  one  play- 
ed the  accordion,  another  the  violin,  and  anoth- 
er (who  usually  began  at  six  o'clock  A.M.)  the 
key-bugle  ;  the  combined  efllbct  of  which  instru- 
ments, when  they  all  played  diflferent  tunes,  ia 
different  parts  of  the  ship,  at  the  same  time, 
and  within  hearing  of  each  other,  as  they  some- 
times did  (everybody  being  intensely  satisfied 
with  his  own  performance),  was  sublimely  hid- 
eous. 

When  all  these  means  of  entertainment  fail- 
ed, a  sail  would  heave  in  sight ;  looming,  per- 
haps, the  very  spirit  .of  a  ship,  in  tne  misty  dis- 
tance, or  passing  us  so  close  that  through  our 
glasses  we  could  see  the  people  on  her  decks, 
and  easily  make  out  her  name,  and  whither  she 
was  bound.  For  hours  together  we  could  watch 
the  dolphins  and  porpoises  as  they  rolled,  and 
leaped,  and  dived  around  the  vessel ;  or  those 
small  creatures  ever  on  the  wing,  the  Mother 
Carey's  chickens,  which  had  borne  us  company 
from  New- York  Bay,  bnd  for  a  whole  fortnight 
fluttered  about  the  vessel's  stern.  For  some 
days  we  had  a  dead  calm,  or  very  light  windii, 
during  which  the  crew  amused  themselves  with 


9» 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


flthiog,  and  hooked  an  unlucky  dolphin,  who  ex- 1 
pired  in  all  his  rainbow  colours,  on  tho  deck  : 
fill  event  of  such  impoitance  in  otir  barren  cal- 
endar, that  aflerward  wc  dated  from  the  dol- 
pliin,  and  made  the  day  on  which  he  died  an 
era. 

Besides  all  this,  when  we  were  five  or  six 
days  out,  there  began  to  be  much  talk  of  ice- 
bergs,  of  which  wandering  islands  an  unusual 
number  had  been  eeen  by  vessels  that  had  come 
into  New>York  a  day  or  two  before  've  lell  that 
port,  and  of  whose  dangerous  neighbourhood 
we  were  warned  by  the  sudden  coldness  of  the 
weather,  and  the  sinking  of  the  mercury  in  the 
barometer.  While  these  tokens  lasted,  a  dou- 
ble look-out  was  kept,  and  many  dismal  tales 
were  whispered,  after  dark,  of  ships  that  had 
ytruck  upon  the  ice  and  gone  down  in  the  night ; 
but  the  wind  obliging  us  to  hold  a  southward 
course,  we  saw  none  of  them,  and  the  weather 
soon  grew  bright  and  warm  again. 

The  observation  every  day  at  noon,  and  the 
aubsequent  working  of  the  vessel's  course,  was, 
as  may  be  supposed,  a  feature  in  our  lives  of 
paramount  importance  ;  nor  were  there  want- 
ing (as  there  never  are)  sagacious  doubters  of 
the  captain's  calculations,  who,  so  soon  as  his 
back  was  turned,  would,  in  the  absence  of  com- 
passes, measure  the  chart  with  bits  of  string, 
and  ends  of  pocket-handkerchiefs,  and  points  ol 
snuffers,  and  clearly  prove  him  to  he  wrong  by 
an  odd  thousand  miles  or  so.  It  was  very  ed- 
ifying to  see  these  unbelievers  shake  their  heads 
and  frown,  and  hear  them  hold  forth  jirongly 
upon  navigation  :  not  that  they  knew  anything 
about  it,  but  that  they  always  mistrusted  the 
captain  in  calm  weather,  or  when  the  wind  was 
adverse.  Indeed,  the  mercury  itself  is  not  so 
variable  as  this  class  of  passengers,  whom  you 
will  see,  when  the  ship  is  goin^  nobly  through 
the  water,  quite  pale  witii  admiration,  swearing 
that  the  captain  beats  all  captains  ever  known , 
and  even  hinting  at  subscriptions  for  a  piece  of 
plate  :  and  who,  next  morning,  when  the  breeze 
has  lulled,  and  all  the  sails  hang  useless  in  the 
idle  air,  shake  their  despondent  heads  again, 
and  say,  with  screwed-up  lips,  they  hope  that 
captain  is  a  sailor,  but  they  shrewdly  doubt  him ; 
that  they  do. 

It  even  became  an  occupation  in  the  calm  to 
wonder  when  the  wind  would  spring  up  n  the 
favourable  quarter,  where,  it  was  clearly  siiown 
by  all  the  rules  and  precedents,  it  ought  to  have 
sprung  up  long  ago.  The  first  mate,  who  whis- 
tled for  it  zealously,  was  much  respected  for  his 
perseverance,  and  was  regarded  even  by  the 
unbelievers  as  a  first-rate  sailor.  Many  gioomy 
hiok.s  would  he  cast  upward  through  the  cabin 
skylights  at  the  flapping  sails  while  dinner  was 
iji  progress  ;  and  some,  growing  bold  in  rueful- 
IK  st<,  predicted  that  we  should  land  about  the 
i:ii;'.iJle  of  July.  There  are  always  on  board 
slii|>.  a  Sanguine  One,  and  a  Despondent  One. 
The  liitt<T  character  carried  it  hollow  at  this  pe- 
rio'l  of  (he  voyage,  and  triumpiied  over  the 
S;ji  „'uinf!  One  at  every  meal,  by  inquiring  where 
1)0  iipposed  the  Great  Western  (which  left 
Ncu  Vi)'k  a  week  after  ns)  was  note;  and 
wli!-  lie  supposed  the  "Cunard"  steam-packet 
w  I  ■  -  <>/<;  and  what  he  thought  of  sailing  ves- 
sf.'  -  -oKipared  with  steamships  nno;  and  so 
bcsi '.  'u4  lil'ti  with  pestilent  attacks  of  that  kind, 


that  he  too  wa«  obliged  to  affect  despondency 
for  very  peace  and  quietude. 

These  were  additions  to  the  list  of  entertain- 
ing  incidents,  but  there  was  still  another  source 
of  interest.  We  carried  in  the  steerage  nearly 
a  hundred  passengers ;  a  little  world  of  pover- 
ty ;  and  as  we  came  to  know  individuals  ain«ing 
them  by  sight,  from  looking  down  upon  the  deck 
where  they  took  the  air  in  tlie  daytime,  and 
cooked  their  food,  and  very  otten  ate  it  too,  we 
became  curious  to  know  their  histories,  and' 
with  what  expectations  they  had  gone  out  to 
America,  and  on  what  errands  they  were  going 
home,  and  what  their  circumstances  were.  The 
information  we  gut  on  these  heads  from  the  car- 
penter, who  had  charge  of  these  pewple,  wa» 
often  of  the  strangest  kind.  Some  of  them  had 
been  in  America  but  three  days,  some  but  three 
months,  and  some  had  gone  out  in  the  last  voy- 
age of  that  very  ship  in  which  they  were  novr 
returning  home.  Others  had  sold  their  clothee 
to  raise  the  passage-money,  and  had  hardly  r<i^ 
to  cover  them ;  others  had  no  food,  and  lived 
upon  the  charity  of  the  rest ;  and  one  man,  it 
was  discovered  nearly  at  the  end  of  the  voyage*, 
not  before — for  he  kept  his  secret  close,  and  did 
not  court  compassion — had  had  no  sustenance 
whatever  but  the  bones  and  scraps  of  fat  he 
took  from  the  plates  used  in  the  after-cabin  din- 
ner when  they  were  put  out  to  be  washed. 

The  whole  system  of  shipping  and  conveying 
these  unfortunate  persons  is  one  that  stands  in 
need  of  thorough  revision.  If  any  class  deserve 
to  be  protected  and  assisted  by  the  government,. 
it  is  that  class  who  are  banished  from  their  na- 
tive land  in  search  of  the  bare  means  of  subsist- 
once.  All  that  could  be  done  for  these  poor 
people  by  the  great  compassion  and  humanity 
of  the  captain  and  officers  was  done,  but  they 
require  much  more.  The  law  is  hound, at  least 
upoii  the  English  siile,  to  see  that  too  many  of 
them  are  not  put  on  board  one  ship ;  and  that 
their  accommodations  are  decent ;  not  demor- 
alizing and  profligate.  It  is  bound,  too,  in  com- 
mon liumanity,  to  declare  that  no  man  shall  be 
taken  on  hoard  without  his  stock  of  provisions 
being  previously  inspected  by  some  proper  offi- 
cer, and  pronounced  moderately  sufficient  for 
his  support  upon  the  voyage  It  ic  bound  to 
provide,  or  to  require  that  there  be  provided  a 
medical  attendant ;  whereas  in  these  ships  there 
are  none,  though  sickness  of  adults  and  deaths 
of  children  on  the  passage  are  matters  of  the 
very  commonest  occurrence.  Above  all,  it  is 
the  duty  of  any  governniont,  be  it  monarchy  or 
repui)lic,  to  interpose  and  put  an  end  to  that 
system  by  v^'hich  a  firm  of  traders  in  emigrants 
purchase  of  the  owners  the  whole  'tween-deoks 
of  a  ship,  and  send  on  board  as  many  wretched 
people  as  they  can  lay  hold  of,  on  any  terms 
they  can  get,  without  the  smallest  reference  to 
the  conveniences  of  the  steerage,  the  number  of 
berths,  the  slightest  separation  of  the  sexes,  or 
anytliing  but  their  own  immediate  profit.  Nor 
is  even  this  the  worst  of  the  vicious  system  ; 
for  certain  crimping  agents  of  these  houses,  who 
have  a  per  centage  on  all  the  passengers  they 
inveigle,  arc  constantly  travelling  about  those 
districts  where  poverty  and  discontent  are  rife, 
and  tempting  the  creduhius  into  more  misery 
by  holding  out  monstrous  inducements  to  emi 
gratiun  which  never  can  be  realized. 


NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


•  Tlie  history  of  every  (hmfly  we  had  on  hoard 
was  pretty  much  the  same.  After  hoarding  up, 
and  borrowing,  and  begging,  and  selling  every- 
thing to  pay  the  passage,  they  had  gone  out  to 
New-York,  expecting  to  find  its  streets  paved 
with  gold,  and  had  found  them  paved  with  very 
hard  and  very  real  stones.  Enterprise  was  dull ; 
labourers  were  not  wanted ;  jobs  of  work  were 
to  be  got,  but  the  payment  was  not.  They  were 
coming  back,  even  poorer  than  they  went.  One 
of  them  was  carrying  an  open  letter  from  a  young 
English  artisan,  who  had  been  in  New- York  a 
fortnight,  to  a  friend  near  Manchester,  whom  he 
strongly  urged  to  follow  him.  One  of  the  offi- 
cers brought  it  to  me  as  a  curiosity.  "  This  is 
the  country,  Jem,"  said  the  writer.  "I  like 
America.  There  is  no  despotism  here ;  that's 
the  great  thing.  Employment  of  all  sorts  is  go- 
ing a-begging,  and  wages  are  capital.  You 
have  only  to  choose  a  trade,  Jem,  and  be  it.  I 
haven't  made  a  choice  of  one  yet,  but  I  shall 
soon.  At  present  I  haven't  quite  made  up  my  mind 
vhether  to  be  a  carpenter — or  a  tailor." 

There  was  yet  another  kind  of  passenger,  and 
but  one  more,  who,  in  the  calm  and  the  light 
winds,  was  a  constant  theme  of  conversation 
and  observation  among  us.  This  was  an  Eng- 
lish sailor,  a  smart,  thorough-built  English  man- 
of-war's-man  from  his  hat  to  his  shoes,  who  was 
serving  in  the  American  navy,  and,  having  got 
leave  of  absence,  was  on  his  way  home  to  see 
his  friends.  When  he  presented  himself  to  take 
and  pay  for  his  passage,  it  had  been  suggested 
to  him  that,  being  an  able  seaman,  he  might  as 
well  work  it  and  save  the  money ;  but  this  piece 
of  advice  he  very  indignantly  rejected,  saying, 
"  He'd  be  damned  but  for  once  he'd  go  aboard 
ship  as  a  gentleman."  Accordingly,  they  took 
his  money,  but  he  no  sooner  came  aboard  than 
he  stowed  his  kit  in  the  forecastle,  arranged  to 
mess  with  the  crew,  and  the  vei  v  first  time  the 
hands  were  turned  up  went  aloft  like  a  cat,  be- 
fore anybody.  And  all  through  the  passage 
there  he  was,  first  at  the  braces,  outermost  on 
the  yards,  perpetually  lending  a  hand  every- 
where, but  always  with  a  sober  dignity  in  his 
manner,  and  a  sober  grin  on  his  face,  which 
plainly  said,  "  I  do  it  as  a  geutleniaa.  For  my 
own  pleasure,  mind  you!" 

At  length,  and  at  last,  the  promised  wind 
came  up  in  right  good  earnest,  and  away  we 
went  before  it,  with  every  stitch  of  canvass  set, 
slashing  through  the  water  nobly.  There  was 
a  grandeur  in  the  motion  of  the  splendid  ship, 
as,  overshadowed  by  her  mass  of  sails,  she  rode 
at  a  furious  pace  upon  the  viavrg,  which  filled 
one  with  an  indescribable  sense  of  pride  and 
exultation.  As  she  plunged  into  a  foaming  val- 
ley, how  I  loved  to  see  the  green  waves,  l)or- 
dered  deep  with  white,  come  rushing  on  astern, 
to  buoy  her  upward  at  thei.  pleasure,  and  curl 
about  her  as  she  stooped  agiin,  but  always  own 
her  for  their  haughty  mistrcbs  still !  On,  «in  we 
flew,  with  changing  liglits  upon  i.'ie  water,  being 
now  in  the  blessed  region  of  tievcy  skies  ;  a 
bright  sun  lighting  us  by  day,  cirid  a  l)right 
moon  by  night ;  the  vane  pointinij  directly 
homeward,  alike  the  trutliTul  index  to  the  fa- 
vouring wind  and  to  our  cheerftd  hearts ;  until 
at  sunrise,  one  fair  Monday  morning — the  twen- 
ty-seventh of  June,  I  shall  not  easily  forgot  llie 
day — there  lay  before  us  old  Cape  Ck-ar,  Odil 


bless  it,  showing.  :^  the  mist  of  early  monuoft 
like  a  cloud ;  the  '•.  'teat  and  moat  welooms 
cloud,  to  us,  I  Ilk  »« u  bid  the  face  of  Heaven'* 
fallen  sister — Home. 

Dim  speck  as  was  in  the  wide  prospect,  it 
made  the  sunrise  a  more  cheerful  sight,  and  gave 
to  it  that  sort  of  human  interest  which  it  seem* 
to  want  at  sea.  There,  as  elsewhere,  the  re- 
turn of  day  is  inseparable  from  some  sense  of 
renewed  hope  and  gladness ;  but  the  light  shi- 
ning on  the  weary  waste  of  water,  and  sbowinf 
it  in  all  its  vast  extent  of  loneliness,  presents  a 
solemn  spectacle,  which  even  night,  veiling  it  ia 
darkness  and  uncertainty,  does  not  surpaaa. 
The  rising  of  the  moon  is  more  in  keeping  vriA. 
the  solitary  ocean ;  and  has  an  air  of  melancho- 
ly grandeur,  which,  in  its  soft  and  gentle  influ- 
ence, seems  to  comfort  while  it  saddens.  I  rec- 
ollect when  I  was  a  very  young  child  having  a 
fancy  that  the  reflection  of  the  moon  in  water 
was  a  path  to  Heaven,  trodden  by  the  spirits  of 
good  people  on  their  way  to  God  :  and  this  old 
feeling  often  came  over  me  again  when  I  watch- 
ed it  on  a  tranquil  night  at  sea. 

The  wind  was  very  light  on  this  same  Mon- 
day morning,  but  it  was  still  in  the  right  quar- 
ter, and  so,  by  slow  degrees,  we  left  Cape  Clear 
behind,  and  sailed  along,  within  sight  of  the 
coast  of  Ireland.  And  how  merry  we  ail  were, 
and  how  loyal  to  the  George  Washington,  and 
how  full  of  mutual  congratulations,  end  how 
venturesome  in  predicting  the  exact  hour  at 
which  we  should  arrive  at  Liverpool,  may  be 
easily  imagined  and  readily  understood.  Also, 
how  heartily  we  drank  the  captain's  health 
that  day  at  dinner;  and  how  restless  we  be- 
came about  packing  up ;  and  how  two  or  three 
of  the  most  sanguine  spirits  rejected  the  idea  of 
going  to  bed  at  all  that  night  as  something  it  was 
not  worth  while  to  do  so  near  the  shore,  but 
went  nevertheless,  and  slept  soundly ;  and  how 
to  be  so  near  our  journey's  end  was  like  a  pleas- 
ant dream,  from  v  hirh  one  feared  to  wake. 

The  friendly  breeze  freshened  again  next  day, 
and  on  we  went  once  more  before  it  gallantly : 
descrying  now  and  then  an  English  ship  going 
homeward  undei  shortened  sail,  while  we,  with 
every  inch  of  cauvass  crowded  on,  d'jshed  gayly 
past,  and  left  hei  far  behind.  Towa;  ;i  t '  vening, 
the  weather  turned  hazy,  with  a  drii^^l.itg  rain , 
and  soon  became  so  thick,  that  we  saK-kI,  as  it 
were,  in  a  cloud.  Still  we  swept  on  ward  like  a 
phantom  ship,  and  many  an  eager  eye  glanoed  ° 
up  to  where  the  look-out  on  the  mast  k^t  wato^i 
for  Holyhead. 

At  length  his  long-expecteu  cry  was  hetrd, 
and  at  the  same  moment  there  shone  out  from 
the  haze  and  mist  ahead  a  gleaming  lighl,  which 
presently  was  gone,  and  soon  returned,  and  soon 
was  g«)ne  again.  Whenever  it  came  back,  the 
eyes  of  all  on  board  bright<:.ied,  and  sparkled 
like  itself:  and  there  we  all  Etm)d,  watching 
this  revolving  light  upon  the  rock  at  Holyhead, 
and  praising  it  for  its  brightness  and  its  friendly 
warning,  and  lauding  it,  in  short,  above  all  other 
.signal  lights  that  ever  were  displayed,  until  ft 
once  mors  glimmered  faintly  in  the  distance  fnr 
behind  us. 

Then  it  was  time  to  lire  a  gun  f(ir  a  pilot ; 

aiul  alriiosl  before  its  smoke  had  cleared  away, 

a  little  huM  with  a  light  at  her  masthead  came 

I  lie  Ping  down  upon  us,  through  the  darkness, 


NOTES   ON    AMERICA. 


Bwiftly.  And  presently,  our  sailR  being  backed, 
she  ran  alongside ;  and  the  hoarse  pilot,  wrapped 
and  muffled  in  peacoats  and  shawls  to  the  very 
kridge  of  hia  weather  ploughed-up  nose,  stood 
hodily  among  us  on  the  deck.  And  I  think  if 
that  pilot  had  wanted  to  borrow  fifty  pounds  for 
an  indefinite  period  on  no  security,  we  should 
bave  engaged  to  lend  it  to  him  among  us  be- 
fore his  boat  had  dropped  astern,  or  (which  is 
the  same  thing)  before  every  scrap  of  news 
ia  the  paper  he  brrought  with  him  had  become 
the  common  property  of  all  on  board. 

We  turned  in  pretty  late  that  night,  and  turn- 
ed out  pretty  soon  next  morning.  By  six  o'clock 
we  clustered  on  the  deck,  prepared  to  go  ashore  ; 
and  looked  upon  the  spires,  and  roofs,  and 
aiBoke  of  Liverpool.  By  eight  we  all  sat  down 
in  one  of  its  hotels,  to  eat  and  drink  together  for 
the  last  time.  And  by  nine  we  had  shaken 
lands  all  round,  and  broken  up  our  social  com- 
pany forever. 

The  country,  by  the  railroad,  seemed,  as  we 
rattled  through  it,  like  a  luxuriant  garden.  The 
keauty  of  the  fields  (so  small  they  looked  !),  the 
ftedge-rows,  and  the  trees  ;  the  pretty  cottages, 
the  beds  of  flowers,  the  old  churchyards,  the  an- 
tique houses,  and  every  well-known  object :  the 
exquisite  delights  of  that  one  journey,  crowding 
in  the  short  compass  of  a  summer's  day  the  joy 
•f  many  years,  and  winding  up  with  Home  and 
ail  that  makes  it  dear  :  no  tongue  can  tell,  or  pen 
•f  mine  describe. 


CHAPTER  XVII.  .  ,   \ 

SLAVERY. 

The  upholders  of  slavery  in  America  —of  the 
atrocities  of  which  system,  I  shall  not  write  one 
word  for  which  I  have  not  ample  proof  and  war- 
rant— may  be  divided  into  three  great  classes. 

The  first,  are  those  more  moderate  and  ration- 
al owners  of  human  cattle,  who  have  come  into 
the  possession  of  them  as  so  many  coins  in  their 
trading  capital,  but  who  admit  the  frightful  na- 
ture ol  the  Institution  in  the  abstract,  and  per- 
ceive the  dangers  to  society  with  which  it  is 
firaught,  dangers  which,  however  distant  they 
may  be,  or  howsoever  tardy  in  their  coming  ou, 
are  as  certain  to  fall  upon  its  guilty  head,  as  is 
the  Day  of  Judgment. 

The  second,  consists  of  all  those  owners, 
breeders,  users,  buyers,  and  sellers  of  slaves, 
who  will,  until  the  bloody  chapter  has  a  bloody 
end,  own,  breed,  use,  buy,  and  sell  them  at  all 
hazards;  who  doggedly  deny  the  horrors  of  the 
system,  in  the  teeth  of  such  a  mass  of  evi- 
dence as  never  was  brought  to  bear  on  any  other 
subject,  and  to  which  the  experience  of  every 
day  contributes  its  immense  amount ;  who  would 
at  this  or  any  other  moment,  gladly  involve 
America  in  a  war,  civil  or  foreign,  provided  that 
il  liaii,  for  its  sole  end  and  object  the  assertion  uf 
Iheir  rijjhl  to  perpetuate  slavery,  and  to  whip, 
ariii  work,  nnd  torture  slaves,  unquestioned  by 
anv  liiiiu  n  authority,  and  unassailed  by  any  hu- 
tn.iii  jiower;  who,  when  they  speak  of  Freedom, 
iiiei:n  ilie  Freeiloin  to  oppres.s  their  kind,  and  to 
Ik-  siviifje,  merciless,  and  cruel;  and  of  whom 
eveiv  nun  on  his  own  ground,  in  republicHii 
Vnierici,  is  a  more  exacting,  and  a  sterner  and 
k.'<-  iL'^jionsihle  despot,  than  the  Caliph  Haroun 
III  i;.i  "-hi  I  in  his  angry  robe  of  scarlet. 


The  third,  and  not  the  least  numerous  or  influ* 
ential,  is  composed  of  all  that  delicate  gentilitr 
which  cannot  bear  a  superior,  and  cannot  brook 
an  equal :  of  that  class  whose  Republicanism 
means,  "I  will  not  tolerate  a  man  above  me; 
and  01  those  below,  none  must  approach  too 
near;"  whose  pride,  in  a  land  where  voluntary 
servitude  is  shunned  as  a  disgrace,  must  be  min- 
istered to  by  slaves  ;  and  whose  inalienable 
rights  can  only  have  their  growth  in  negro 
wrongs. 

It  has  been  sometimes  urged  that,  in  the  una- 
vailing efforts  which  have  been  made  to  advance 
the  cause  of  Human  Freedom  in  the  republic  ot 
America  (strange  cause  for  history  o  treat  of!), 
sufficient  regard  has  not  been  had  to  me  existence 
of  the  first  class  of  persons ;  and  it  has  been  con- 
tended that  they  are  hardly  used,  in  being  con- 
founded with  the  second.  This  is,  no  doubt,  the 
case ;  noble  instances  of  pecuniary  and  personal 
sacrifice  have  already  had  their  growth  among 
them;  and  it  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the 
gulf  between  them  and  the  advocates  of  emanci- 
pation should  have  been  widened  and  deepened 
by  any  means :  the  rather,  as  there  are,  beyond 
dispute,  among  these  slave-owners,  many  kind 
masters  who  are  tender  in  the  exercise  of  their 
unnatural  power.  Still  it  is  to  be  feared  that 
this  injustice  is  inseparable  from  the  slate  of 
things  with  which  humanity  and  truth  are  called 
upon  to  deal.  Slavery  is  not  a  whit  the  more 
endurable  because  some  hearts  are  to  be  found 
which  can  partially  resist  its  hardening  influen- 
ces ;  nor  can  the  indignant  tide  of  honest  wrath 
stand  still,  because  in  its  onward  course  it  over- 
whelms a  few  who  are  comparatively  innocent, 
among  a  host  of  guilty. 

The  ground  most  commonly  taken  by  these 
better  men  among  the  advocates  of  slavery,  is 
this :  "  It  is  a  bad  system ;  and  for  myself  I 
would  willingly  get  rid  of  it,  if  I  could;  most 
willingly.  But  h  is  not  so  bad,  as  you  in  Eng- 
land take  it  to  be.  You  are  deceived  by  the  rep- 
resentations of  the  emancipationists.  The  great- 
er part  of  my  slaves  are  much  attached  to  me. 
You  will  say  that  I  do  not  allow  them  to  be  se- 
verely treated ;  but  1  will  put  it  to  you  whether 
you  believe  that  it  can  be  a  general  practice  to 
treat  them  inhumanly,  when  it  would  impair 
their  value,  and  would  be  obviously  against  the 
interests  of  their  masters." 

Is  it  the  interest  of  any  man  to  steal,  to  game, 
to  waste  his  health  and  mental  faculties  by 
drunkenness,  to  lie,  forswear  himself,  indulge 
hatred,'  seek  desperate  revenge,  or  do  murder  1 
No.  All  these  are  roads  to  ruin.  And  why, 
then,  do  men  tread  them  1  Because  such  incli- 
nations are  among  the  vicious  qualities  of  man- 
kind. Blot  out,  ye  friends  of  slavery,  from  the 
catalogue  of  human  passions,  brutal  lust,  cruel- 
ty, and  the  abuse  of  irresponsible  power  (of  all 
earthly  temptations  the  most  difficult  to  be  resist- 
ed), and  when  ye  have  done  so,  and  not  before, 
we  will  inquire  whether  it  be  the  i«terest  of  a 
maslei'  to  lash  and  maim  the  slaves,  over  whose 
lives  and  limbs  he  has  an  absolute  control. 

But  again :  this  class,  together  with  that  last 
one  I  h.Tve  named,  the  miserable  aristocracy 
sjiawned  of  a  false  republic,  lifl  up  their  voices 
and  exclaim,  "  Public  opinion  is  all  sufficient  to 
prevent  sufh  cruelty  as  you  denoimce."  Public 
opinion!  Why,  public  opinion  in  the  slave 
State*  is  slavery,  is  it  noti  Public  opinion  in 
the  slave  States  has  delivered  the  slaves  over  to 
the  gentle  mercies  of  their  masters.   Public  opin- 


NOTES   ON   AM^iiRICA. 


ion  has  made  the  laws,  and  denied  them  legisla- 
tive protection.  Public  opinion  has  knotted  the 
lash,  heated  the  branding-iron,  loaded  the  rifle, 
and  shielded  the  murderer.  Public  opinion 
threatens  the  abolitionist  with  death,  if  he  ven- 
ture to  the  South;  and  drags  him  with  a  rope 
about  his  middle,  in  a  broad  unblushing  noon, 
through  the  first  city  in  the  East.  Public  opin- 
ion has,  within  a  few  years,  burned  a  slave  alive 
at  a  slow  fire  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis :  and  pub- 
lic opinion  has  to  this  day  maintained  upon  the 
bench  that  estimable  judge  who  charged  tne  jury, 
impanelled  there  to  try  his  murt^^rers,  that  their 
most  horrid  deed  was  an  act  of  public  opinion, 
and  being  so,  must  not  be  punished  by  the  laws 
the  public  sentiment  had  made.  Public  opinion 
hailed  this  doctrine  with  a  howl  of  wild  applause, 
and  set  the  prisoners  free,  to  walk  the  city,  men 
of  mark,  and  influence,  and  station,  as  they  had 
been  before. 

Public  opinion  i  what  class  of  men  have  an 
immense  preponderance  over  the  rest  of  the  com- 
munity, in  their  power  of  representing  public 
opinion  in  the  legislature  1  The  slave  owners. 
They  send  from  their  twelve  States,  one  hundred 
members,  while  the  fourteen  free  States,  with  a 
fi«e  population  nearly  double,  return  but  a  hun- 
dred and  forty-two.  "Before  whom  do  the  presi- 
dential candidates  bow  down  the  most  humbly, 
on  whom  do  they  fawn  the  most  fondly,  and  for 
whose  tastes  do  they  cater  the  most  assiduously 
in  their  servile  protestations  "i  The  slave  own- 
ers always. 

Public  opinion !  hear  the  public  opinion  of 
the  free  South,  as  expressed  oy  its  own  mem- 
bers in  the  House  of  Representatives  at  Wash- 
ington. "  I  have  a  great  respect  for  the  chair," 
quoth  North  Carolina,  "  I  have  a  great  respect 
for  the  chair  as  an  officer  of  the  house,  and  a 
great  respect  for  him  personally;  nothing  bat 
Uiat  respect  prevents  me  from  rushing  to  the  ta- 
ble and  tearing  that  petition  which  has  just  been 
presented  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  to  pieces."  "I  warn  the 
abolitionists,"  says  Souui  Carolina,  "  ignorant, 
infuriated  barbarians  as  they  are,  that  if  chance 
shall  throw  any  of  them  into  our  hands,  he  may 
expect  a  felon's  death."  "  Let  an  abolitionist 
come  within  the  borders  of  South  Carolina^" 
cries  a  third,  mild  Carolina's  colleague,  "and  if 
we  can  catch  him  we  will  try  him,  and  notwith- 
standing the  interference  of  all  the  governments 
on  earu,  including  the  federal  government,  we 
will  BANG  him." 

Public  opinion  has  made  this  law :  it  has  de- 
clared that  in  Washington,  in  that  city  which 
takes  its  name  from  the  father  of  American  lib- 
erty, any  justice  of  the  peace  may  bind  with  fet- 
ters any  negro  passing  down  the  street  and  tlirust 
him  into  jail;  no  offence  on  the  black  man's 
part  is  necessary.  The  justice  says,  "  I  choose 
to  think  this  man  a  runaway ;"  and  locks  him 
up.  Public  opinion  impowers  the  man  of  law 
wnen  this  is  done  to  advertise  the  negro  in  the 
newspapers,  warning  his  owner  to  comp  and 
claim  him,  or  he  will  be  sold  to  pay  the  jail  fees. 
But  supposing  he  is  a  free  black,  and  has  no 
owner,  it  may  naturally  be  presumed  that  he  is 
set  at  liberty.  No ;  hk  ib  sold  to  recompense 
MIS  JAILER.  This  has  been  done  again,  and 
again,  and  again.  He  has  no  means  of  proving 
his  freedom ;  has  no  adviser,  mes-senger,  or  as- 
sistance of  any  sort  or  kind;  no  investigation 
into  his  case  is  made,  or  inquiry  instituted.  He, 
a  fbee  man,  who  may  have  •erVed  for  years,  and 


bouglt  his  libert}',  is  thrown  into  jail  on  no  pR»> 
cess,  for  no  crime,  and  on  no  pretence  of  crim^ 
and  hi  sold  to  pay  the  jail  fees.  This  seems  in- 
credib]t,  even  ol  America,  but  it  is  the  law. 

Public  opinion  is  deferred  in  such  cases  as  lbs 
followi'Jg,  which  is  headed  in  the  newspapers 

"  InUral\ng  Law  Cox, 
"  An  interesting  case  is  now  on  trial  in  the 
Supreme  Court,  arising  out  of  the  following 
facts :  a  gentleman  residing  in  Maryland  had  at 
lowed  an  aged  pair  of  ms  slaves  substantial 
though  not  legal  freedom  for  several  yean. 
While  thus  living  a  daughter  was  bom  to  them, 
who  grew  up  in  the  same  liberty  until  she  mar- 
ried a  free  negro,  and  went  with  him  to  reside  ibl 
Pennsylvania.  They  had  several  children,  and 
lived  unmolested  until  the  original  owner  died, 
when  his  heir  attempted  to  regain  them ;  biJt  the 
magistrate  before  whom  they  were  brought,  de- 
cided that  he  had  no  jurismction  in  the  cmt. 
The  moner  xized  the  woman  and  children  m  tke 
night,  and  carried  them  to  Maryland." 

"Cash  for  negroes,"  "cash  for  negroes,"  "caafe, 
for  negroes,"  is  the  heading  of  advertisemenla 
in  great  capitals  down  the  long  columns  of  ikm. 
crowded  journals.  Woodcuts  of  a  runawar 
negro  with  manacled  hands,  crouching  beneau 
a  bluff  pursuer  in  top  boots,  who,  having  caught 
him,  grasps  him  by  the  throat,  agreeably  diversi- 
fy the  pleasant  text.  The  leading  article  pro- 
tests against  "  that  abominable  and  hellish  doc- 
trine of  abolition,  which  is  repugnant  alike  to 
every  law  of  God  and  Nature."  The  delicate 
mamma,  who  smiles  her  acquiescence  in  tiiis 
sprightly  writing  as  she  reads  the  paper  in  her 
cool  piazza,  quiets  her  youngest  child  who  clings 
about  her  skirts,  by  promising  the  boy  "  a  whip 
to  beat  the  little  niggers  with." — But  the  negroes, 
little  and  big,  are  protected  by  public  opinion. 

Let  us  try  this  public  opinion  by  another  test, 
which  is  important  in  three  points  of  view:  firs^ 
as  showing  how  desperately  timid  of  the  public 
opinion  slave  owners  are,  iii  their  delicate  de- 
scriptions of  fugitive  slaves  in  widely-cireula* 
ted  newspapers ;  secondly,  as  showing  how  per- 
fectly contented  the  slaves  are,  and  how  veij 
seldom  they  run  away;  thirdly,  as  exhibitiag 
their  entire  freedom  from  scar,  or  blemish,  or 
any  mark  of  cruel  Infliction,  as  their  pictures 
are  drawn,  not  by  lying  abolitionists,  but  bf 
their  own  truthful  masters. 

The  following  are  a  few  specimens  of  the  ad- 
vertisements in  the  public  papers.  It  is  only 
four  years  since  the  oldest  among  them  appeai>- 
ed,  and  others  of  the  same  nature  continue  to  be 
published  every  day  in  shoals. 

"  Ran  away  negress  Caroline.  Had  on  a 
collar  with  one  prong  turned  down." 

"  Ran  away,  a  black  woman,  Betsy.  Had  am 
iron  bar  on  her  right  leg." 

"  Ran  away,  the  negro  Manuel,  much  marked 
with  irons." 

"  Ran  away,  the  negress  Fanny.  Had  on  aa 
iron  band  about  her  neck." 

"  Ran  away,  a  negro  boy  about  twelve  yean 
old.  Had  lound  his  neck  a  chain  dog-collar 
with  '  De  Lanipert'  engraved  on  it." 

"  Ran  away,  the  negro  Hown.  Has  a  ring 
of  tron  on  his  left  foot.  Also  Qrise,  Am  tw/ir, 
having  a  ring  and  chain  on  the  left  leg." 

"  Ran  away,  a  negro  l)oy,  named  James.  Said 
boy  was  ironed  when  he  left  me." 

"  Committed  to  jail,  a  man  who  calls  his  name 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


John.    He  has  a  clog  of  irou  on  his  right  loot 
which  will  weigh  four  or  five  pounds." 

"  Detained  at  the  police  jail,  the  negro  wench 
Myra.  Has  several  marks  of  lasiiino,  and  has 
irons  on  her  feet." 

"  Ran  away,  a  nc^o  woman  and  two  chil- 
dren ;  a  few  days  belore  she  went  off  I  burned 
her  with  a  hot  iron  on  the  left  side  of  her  face. 
I  tried  to  make  the  letter  M." 

*'  Ran  away,  a  negro  man  named  Henry ;  his 
left  eye  out,  some  seal's  from  a  dirk  on  and  un- 
der his  left  arm,  and  much  scarred  with  the 
whip." 

"  One  hundred  dollars  reward,  for  a  negro  fel- 
low, Pompey,  40  years  old.  He  is  branded  on 
the  left  jaw.'^ 

"  Committed  to  jail,  a  negro  man.  Has  no 
toes  on  the  left  foot." 

"  Ran  away,  a  negro  woman  named  Rachel. 
Has  lost  all  her  toes  except  the  large  one." 

"  Ran  away,  Sam.  He  was  shot  a  short  time 
aince  through  the  hand,  and  has  several  shots  in 
his  left  arm  and  side." 

"  Ran  away,  m  y  negro  man  Dennis.  Said  ne- 
gro has  been  shot  in  the  left  arm  between  the 
ahoiUder  and  elbow,  which  ha"  naralyzed  the  left 
land." 

"  Ran  away,  my  negro  n^  ra  named  Simon. 
He  has  been  shot  badly  in  '  ^n  back  and  right 
arm." 

"  Ran  away,  a  negio  i.ar  Arthur.  Has  a 
•onsiderable  scui  across  his  brcu,.  I  and  each  arm, 
made  by  a  knife ;  lu'  s  .<  <  alk  n  '^ch  of  the  good- 
ness of  God." 

"Twenty-five  dollsri.  rsvnxfl  for  my  man 
Isaac.  He  has  a  scar  on  rJ  ."..  ehead,  caused 
fcy  a  blow ;  and  one  on  hio  i. :.:,<,  made  by  a  shot 
fifom  a  pistol." 

"  Ran  away,  negro  girl  called  Mary.  Has  a 
small  scar  over  her  eye,  a  good  maay  teeth  miss- 
ing, the  letter  A  is  branded  on  her  cheek  and 
forehead." 

"  Ran  away,  negro  Ben.  Has  a  scar  on  his 
right  band;  his  thimb  and  forefinger  being  inju- 
iw  by  being  shot  last  fall.  A  part  of  the  bone 
oame  out.  He*  has  also  one.  or  two  large  scars 
on  his  back  andhips." 

"Detained  al  the  jail,  amullitto,  named  Tom. 
Has  a  scar  on  the  right  cheek,  and  appears  to 
liBve  been  burned  with  powder  on  the  ta<Ge;" 

"  Ran  away,  a  negro  man  named  Ned.  Three 
of  his  fingers  are  drawn  into  the  palm  of  his 
hand  by  a  cut.  Has  a  scar  on  the  back  of  his 
neckj  nearly  half  round,  done  by  a  knife." 

"  Was  committed  to  jail,  a  negro  man.  Says 
his.  name  is  Josiah.  His  back  very  much 
aoaixcd  by  tlie  whip;  and  branded  on  the  thi^h 
and  hips  in  three  or  four  places  thus  (J  M).  The 
limiof  his  right  ear  has  Wn  bit  or  cut  off." 

"  Fifty  dollars  reward,  for  my  fellow  Edward. 
He  has. a  scar  on  the  comer  of  his  mouth,  two 
cuts  on  and  under  his  aiin,  and  the  letter  £  on 
bis  arm." 

"  Ran  away,  negro  boy  Ellie.  Has  a  scar  on 
one  of  his  arms  from  the  bite  of  a  dog." 

"  Ran  away,  from  the  plantation  of  James 
Surgette,  the  following  negroes:  Randal,  lias  one 
ear  cropped ;  Bob,  has  lost  one  eye ;  Kentucky 
Tom,  has  one  jaw^  broken." 

"Ran  away,  Anthony.  One  O)  his  ears  cut 
off,  ai'd  his  left  hand  cut  with  an  axe." 

"  Fily  dollars  reward  for  the  nogro  Jim  Blake. 
Has  a  piece  cut  out  of  each  ear,  and  the  middle 
finger  of  the  left  hand  cut  off  to  the  second  joint." 

"  Ran  away,  a  negro  woman  named  Maria. 


Has  a  scar  on  one  side  of  her  cheek,  by  a  cut. 
Some  scars  on  her  back," 

"  Ran  away,  the  mulatto  wench  Mary.  Has 
a  cut  on  the  left  arm,  a  scar  on  the  left  shoulder, 
and  two  upper  teeth  missing." 

I  should  say,  perhaps,  in  explanation  of  this 
latter  piece  of  description,  that  among  the  other 
blessings  which  public  opinion  secures  to  the 
negroes,  is  the  common  practice  of  violently 
punching  out  their  teeth.  To  make  them  wear 
iron  collars  by  day  and  night,  and  to  worry  them 
with  dogs,  aii3  practices  almost  too  ordinary  to 
deserve  mention. 

"  Ran  away,  my  man  Fountain.  Has  holes 
in  his  ears,  a  scar  on  the  right  side  of  his  fore- 
head^ has  been  shot  in  the  hind  parts  of  his  legs, 
and  is  marked  on  the  back  with  the  whip." 

"  Two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  reward  for  my 
negro  man  Jim.  He  is  much  marked  with  shot 
in  his  right  thigh.  The  shot  entered  on  the  out- 
side, half  way  between  the  hip  and  knee  joints." 

"  Brought  to  jail,  John.    Left  ear  cropped." 

"Taken  up,  a  negro  man.  Is  very  much 
.scarred  about  the  face  and  body,  and  has  the  left 
ear  bit  off." 

"  Ran  away,  a  black  girl,  named  Mary.  Has 
a  scar  on  her  cheek,  and  the  end  of  one  of  her 
toes  cut  off." 

"  Ran  away,  my  mulatto  woman,  Judy.  She 
has  had  her  right  arm  broken." 

"  Ran  away,  my  negro  man,  Levi.  His  left 
hand  has  been  burned,  and  I  think  the  end  of  his 
forefinger  is  off." 

"  Ran  away,  a  negro  man,  nameo  Washing- 
ton. Has  lo.st  a  part  of  his  middle  finger,  and 
the  end  of  his  little  finger." 

"  Twenty-five  dollars  reward  for  my  man  Johu. 
The  tip  of  his  nose  is  bit  off." 

"Twenty-five  dollars  reward  for  the  negro 
slave,  Sally.  Walks  a.<  though  crippled  in  the 
back." 

"  Ran  aw£  Joe  Dennis.  Has  &  small  notch 
in  one  of  his  "ears." 

"  Ran  away,  negro  boy,  Jack.  Has  a  small 
crop  out  of  his  left  ear." 

"  Ran  away,  a  negro  man^  named  Ivory.  Has 
a  small  piece  cut  out  of  the  top  of  each  ear." 

While  upon  the  subject  of  ears,  1  may  observe 
that  a  distinguished  abolitionist  in  New- York 
once  received  a  negro's  ear,  which  had  been  cut 
off  close  to  the  head,  in  a  general  post  letter.  It 
was  forwarded  by  tha  froc  and  independent  gen- 
tleman who  had  caused  it  to  be  amputated,  with 
a  polite  request  that  he  would  place  the  specimen 
in  his  "collection." 

I  could  enlarge  this  catalogue  with  broken  arms 
and  broken  legs,  and  gashed  flesh,  and  missing 
teeth,  and  lacerated  backs,  and  bites  of  dogs,  and 
brands  of  ••■.\-hot  i  "s  innumerable;  but  as  my 
readers  wii.  i>suli)^iently  sickened  and  repelled 
alrejidy,  I  v,  ill  turn  to  another  bninch  of  the  sub- 
ject. 

These  a  A  jitisements,  of  which  a  similar  col- 
lection might  be  made  forevrry  year,  and  month, 
and  week,  and  day ;  and  which  are  coolly  read  in 
families  as  things  of  course,  and  as  a  part  of  the 
current  news  and  sniall-ialk ;  will  serve  to  show 
how  vevy  much  the  slaves  profit  by  public  <));in- 
ion,  and  how  tender  it  is  in  their  behalf.  But  it 
may  be  worth  while  to  inquire  how  the  slavi 
owi.ers,  and  the  clns«  of  society,  to  which  great 
numbers  of  them  belong,  defer  to  public  opinion 
in  their  conduct,  not  to  their  slaves,  but  to  each 
other;  how  they  are  accustomed  to  restrain  their 
passions ;  what  their  bearing  is  among  them- 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


87     i 


r.    Has 
lioulder, 


selves ;  whether  they  are  fierce  or  gentle ;  whether 
tlieir  social  customii  be  brutal,  sanguinary,  and 
violent,  or  bear  the  impress  of  civilization  and 
refinement. 

That  we  may  have  no  partial  evidence  from 
abolitionists  in  thi^  inquiiy,  either,  I  will  once 
more  turn  to  their  own  newspapers,  and  I  will 
confine  myself,  this  time,  to  a  selection  from 
paragraphs  which  appeared  from  day  to  day, 
during  my  visit  to  America,  and  which  refer  to 
occurrences  happening  while  I  was  there.  The 
italics  iu  these  extracts,  as  in  the  foregoing,  are 
my  own. 

These  cases  did  not  all  occurj  it  will  be  seen, 
•in  tenitory  actually  belonging  to  legalized  Slave 
States,  though  most,  and  those  the  very  worst 
among  them  did,  as  their  counterparts  constantly 
4io ;  but  the  position  of  the  scenes  of  action  in 
reference  to  places  immediately  at  hand,  where 
slavery  is  the  law ;  and  the  stron«^  resemblance 
■between  that  class  of  outrages  and  the  rest;  lead 
^to  the  just  presumption  that  the  character  of  the 
parties  concerned  vas  formed  in  slave  districts, 
-and  brutalized  by  slave  customs. 

"  Horrible  Tragedy. 

"  By  a  slip  from  TVve  Southjwrt  Telegraph,  Wis- 
-consin,  we  learn  that  the  Hon.  Charles  C.  P. 
Amdt,  Member  of  the  Council  for  Brown  county, 
was  shot  dead  on  the  Jloor  of  tlw.  Council  chamber, 
by  James  R.  Vinyaid,  Member  from  Grant 
county.  The  affair  grew  out  of  a  nomination 
for  Sheriff  of  Grant  county.  Mr.  E.  S.  Baker 
was  nominated  and  supported  by  Mr.  Amdt. 
This  nomination  was  opposed  by  Vinyard,  who 
wanted  the  apjwintment  to  vest  in  his  own  brother. 
In  the  course  of  debate,  the  deceased  made  some 
statements  which  Vinyard  pronounced  false,  and 
made  use  of  violent  and  insulting  language,  deal- 
ing largely  in  personalities,  to  which  Mr.  A.  made 
no  reply.  Alter  the  adjournment,  Mr.  A.  step- 
ped up  to  Vinyard,  and  requestt^l  him  to  retract, 
which  he  refused  to  do,  repeating  the  offensive 
words.  Mr.  Amdt  then  made  a  blow  at  Vinyard, 
who  stepped  back  a  pace,  drew  a  pistol,  and  shot 
him  dead. 

"  The  issue  appears  to  have  been  provoked  on 
■the  part  of  Vinyard,  who  was  determined  at  all 
hazards  to  defeat  the  appointment  of  Baker,  and 
'who,  himself  defeated,  turned  his  ire  and  revenge 
upon  the  unfortunate  Amdt." . 

"  T%e  Wisconsin,  Tragedy. 

"  Public  indignation  runs  high  in  the  territory 
ofWisconsin,  in  relation  to  the  murder  of  C.  G. 
P.  Amdt,  in  the  Legislative  Hall  of  the  Terri- 
tory. Meetings  have  bt3en  held  in  different 
•counties  of  Wisconsin,  denouncing  the  pracHc*: 
.  of  secretly  hearins  arms  in  tfie  Legislative  chariihers 
of  ike  country.  We  have  seen  the  account  of  the 
expulsion  of  James  R.  Vinyani,  the  perpetrator 
of  the  bloody  deed,  and  are  amazed  to  hear,  that, 
af^er  this  expulsion  by  those  who  saw  Vinyard 
kill  Mr.  Amdt  in  the  presence  of  his  nged  father, 
who  was  on  a  visit  to  see  his  son,  little  dri'aming 
thnt  he  was  to  witness  his  mnrder,  Judge  Ihiiin 
has  discharged  Vinyard  on  bail.  Tho  Miners' 
Free  Press  speaks  in  U'vms  of  rMvited  rebuke  at 
the  outrage  upon  the  fillings  of  the  people  of 
Wisconsin.  Vinyard  was  within  arm's  length 
of  Mr.  Amdt.  when  he  took  such  deadly  aim  at 
him,  that  he  never  spoke.    Vinyard  might  at 

eleasure,  being  so  near,  have  only  wounded  him, 
tit  he  chow  to  kill  him." 


"Murder. 
"  By  a  letter  in  a  St.  Louis  paper  of  the  I4th, 
we  notice  a  terrible  outrage  at  Burlington,  Iowa. 
A  Mr.  Bridgman  having  nad  a  difficulty  with  a 
citizen  of  the  place,  Mr.  Ross;  a  brother-in-law 
of  the  latter  provided  himself  with  one  of  Colt's 
revolving  pistols,  met  Mr.  B.  in  the  street,  and 
discharged  tli£  contents  of  five  oftke  barrels  at  him  ; 
each  shot  taking  effect.  Mr.  B..  tliough  horribly 
wounded,  and  dying,  returned  tne  fire,  and  killed 
Ross  on  the  spot." 

"  Terrible  Death  ofRohcrt  Potter. 

"  From  the  '  Caddo  Gazette'  of  the  12th  inst., 
we  leam  the  fiightful  death  of  Colonel  Robert 
Potter. .  .  .  He  was  beset  in  his  house  by  an  ene- 
my, named  Rose.  He  sprang  from  his  couch, 
seized  his  gun,  and,  in  his  night  clothes,  rushed 
from  the  house.  For  about  two  hundred  yards 
his  speed  seemed  to  defy  his  pursuers ;  but,  get- 
ting entangled  in  a  thicket,  he  was  captured. 
Rose  told  him  UuU  he  intended  to  act  a  generous 
part,  and  give  him  a  chance  for  his  life.  "He 
then  told  Potter  he  might  run,  and  he  should 
not  be  interrupted  till  he  reached  a  certain  'dis- 
tance. Potter  started  at  the  word  of  command, 
and  before  a  gun  was  fired  he  had  reached  the 
lake.  His  first  impulse  was  to  jump  in  the 
water  and  dive  for  it,  which  he  did.  Rose  was 
close  behind  him,  and  formed  his  men  on  the 
bank  ready  to  shoot  him  as  he  rose.  In  a  fbw 
seconds  he  came  up  to  breathe j  and  scarce  had 
his  head  reached  the  surface  of  the  water  when 
it  was  completely  riddled  with  the  shot  of  their 
guns,  and  he  sunk,  to  rise  no  more !" 

"  Murder  in  ArkanXts.  ' 
"  Weunderstand  thai  a  severe  rencounter  came  off 
a  fevr  days  since  in  the  Seneca  Nation,  between 
Mr.  Loose,  the  sub-agent  of  the  mixed  band  of 
the  Senticas,  duapaw,  and  Shawnees,  and  Mr. 
James  Gillespie,  of  the  mercantile  firm  of  Thom- 
as G.  Allison  and  Co.,  of  Maysville,  Benton, 
Coimty  Ark,  in  ^diich  the  latter  was  slain  with 
a  bowie-knife.  Some  difficulty  had  for  some 
time  existed  between  the  parties.  It  is  said  that 
Major  Gillespie  brought  on  the  attack  with  a 
cane.  A  severe  confUct  ensued,  during  which 
two  pistols  were  fired  by  Gillespie  and  one  by 
Loose.  Loose  then  stabbed  Gillespie  with  one 
of  those  never,  fallii^  weapons  a  bowie-knife. 
The  death  of  Major  6.  is  much  regretted,  as  h^ 
was  a  liberal-minded  and  energetic  man.  Since 
the  above  was  in  type,  we  have  learned  that 
Major  Allison  has  stat6a  to  some  of  our  citizens 
in  town  that  Mr.  Loose  gave  the  first  blow.  We 
forbear  to  give  any  particulars,  as  the  matter  will 
be  the  subject  of  yudicied  investigation." 

"  Fovl  Deed. 

"  The  steamer  Thames,  just  from  Missouri 
River,  brought  us  a  handbill,  offering  a  reward 
of  500  dollars  for  the  person  who  assassinated 
Lilhum  W.  Baggs,  late  Governor  of  this  State, 
at  Independence,  on  the  night  of  the  6th  insi. 
Governor  Baggs,  it  is  stated  in  a  written  memo- 
raiiflurr,  was  not  dead,  but  mortally  wounded. 

"Since  the  above  was  written  we  received  a 
note  from  the  clerk  of  the  Thames,  giving  the 
following  particulars.  Gov.  Baggs  was  shot  by 
some  villain  on  Friday,  6lh  inst.,  in  the  evening, 
while  sittinj  in  a  room  in  his  own  house  in  In- 
dependence. His  son,  a  boy,  hearing  a  report, 
ran  intc  the  room,  and  found  the  governor  sit- 
ting in  his  chair,  with  his  jaw  IhUen  down,  aod 


80 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


his  head  leaning  back ;  on  discovering  the  in- 
jury done  his  father,  he  gave  the  alarm.  Foot 
tracks  were  found  in  the  garden  below  the  win- 
dow, and  a  pistol  picked  up  supposed  jto  have 
been  overloaded,  and  thrown  from  the  hand  of 
the  scoundrel  who  fired  it.  Three  buck  shots, 
of  a  heavy  load,  took  effect ;  one  going  through 
his  mouth,  one  into  the  brain,  and  another  prob- 
ably in  or  near  the  brain:  all  going  into  the 
back  part  of  the  neck  and  head.  The  governor 
was  still  alive  on  the  morning  of  the  7th ;  but  no 
hopes  for  his  recovery  by  his  friends,  and  but 
slight  hopes  from  his  physicians. 

"A  man  was  suspected,  and  the  sheriff  most 
probably  has  possession  of  him  by  this  time. 

"The  pistol  was  one  of  a  pair  stolen  some 
days  previous  from  a  baker  m  Independence, 
and  the  legal  authorities  have  the  description  of 
the  other." 

"  Rencounter. 

"  An  unfortunate  affair  took  place  on  Friday 
evening  in  Chatres  Street,  in  which  one  of  our 
most  respectable  citizens  received  a  dangerous 
'wound,  from  a  poignard  in  the  abdomen.  From 
the  Bee  (New  Orieans)  of  yesterday,  we  learn 
the  following  particulars.  It  appears  that  an 
article  was  published  in  the  French  side  of  the 
papar  on  Monday  last,  containing  some  stric- 
tures on  the  Artillery  Battalion  for  firing  their 
^uns  on  Sunday  morning,  in  answer  to  those 
irom  the  Ontario  and  Woodbury,  and  thereby 
much  alarm  was  caused  to  the  families  of  those 
persons  who  were  out  all  night  preserving  the 
peace  of  the  city.  Major  C.  Gaily,  Command- 
er of  the  battalion  resenting  this,  called  at  the 
office  and  demanded  the  author's  name;  that 
of  M.  P.  Arpin  was  given  to  him,  who  was  ab- 
sent at  the  time.  Some  angry  words  then  pass- 
ed with  one  of  the  proprietors,  and  a  challenge 
followed ;  the  friends  of  both  parties  tried  to  ar- 
range the  affair,  but  failed  to  do  so.  On  Friday 
-Evening,  about  seven  o'clock,  Major  Gaily  met 
Mr.  P.  Arpin  in  Chatres  Street,  and  accosted 
him.  '  Are  you  Mr.  Arpin  V 
"•Yes,  sir.' 

"'Then  I  ha»e  to  tell  you  that  you  arc  a 
— '"  fapplying  an  appropriate  epithet.) 
" '  I  snail  '■^mind  you  of  your  words,  sir.' 
" '  But  I  have  said  I  would  break  my  cane  on 
your  shoulders.' 

" '  I  know  it,  but  I  have  not  yet  received  the 
blow.' 

"  At  these  words.  Major  Gaily,  having  a  cane 
in  his  l«uids,  struck  Mr.  Arpin  across  the  face, 
and  the  latter  drew  a  poignard  from  his  pocket 
and  stabbed  Major  Gaily  in  the  abdomen. 

"  Fears  are  entertained  that  the  wound  will 
be  mortal.  We  underMand  that  Mr.  Arpin  has 
given  security  for  his  appearance  at  the  Criminal 
Court  to  amswer  the  charge." 

"  Affray  in  Mississippi. 

"  On  the  27th  ult.,  in  an  affray  near  Carthage, 
Leake  county,  Mississippi,  between  James  Cot- 
lingham  and  John  Wilbum,  the  latter  wa.s  shot 
by  the  former,  and  so  horribly  wounded,  that 
there  was  no  hope  of  his  recovery.  On  the  2(1 
instant,  there  was  an  affray  at  Carthage  between 
A.  C.  Sharkey  and  George  Goff,  in  which  the 
latter  was  shot,  and  thought  mortally  wounded. 
Sharkey  delivered  himself  up  to  the  authorities, 
but  changed  his  miTid  and  escaped  I" 


"  Personal  Encounter.     '^-    -  - ■  t  ■^ 

"An  encoimter  took  place  in  Sparta,  a  tew 
days  since,  between  the  barkeeper  of  a  hotel,, 
and  a  inan  named  Bury.  It  appears  that  Bury 
had  become  somewhat  noisy,  and  that  the  bur- 
keepei;  ddemiined  to  preserve  order,  had  threatened  t» 
shoot  Bvrij,  whereupon  Bury  drew  a  pistol  and 
shot  the  barkeeper  down.  He  was  not  dead  at 
the  last  accaunts,  but  slight  hopes  were  enter- 
tained of  his  recoveiy." 

*'Duel. 

"  The  clerk  of  the  steamboat  TVibww  informs- 
us  that  another  duel  was  fought  on  Tuesday  last, 
by  Ml'.  Ilobbins,  a  bank  otiicer  in  Vicksburg*,. 
and  Mr.  Fall,  the  editor  of  the  Vicksbug  Senti- 
nel. According  to  the  arrangement,  the  parties 
had  six  pistols  each,  which,  after  the  word 
'  Fire !  the;/  loere  to  discharge  as  fast  as  they  pleased. 
Fall  fired  two  pistols  without  effect.  Mr.  Rob- 
bins'  first  shot  took  effect  in  Fall's  thigh,  who- 
fell,  and  was  unable  to  continue  the  combat." 

"  Affray  in  Clarke  County. 

"An  unfortunate  affray  occuned  in  Clarke 
County  (Mo.)  near  Waterloo,  on  Tuesday  the 
19th  ult.,  which  originated  in  settling  the  part- 
nership concerns  of  Messrs.  M'Kane  and  M'Al^ 
lister,  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  business  of 
distilling,  and  resulted  in  the  death  of  the  latter, 
who  was  shot  down  by  Mr.  M'Kane,  because 
of  his  attempting  to  take  possession  of  seven- 
barrels  of  whiskey,  the  property  of  M'Kane, 
which  had  been  knocked  off  to  M'Allister  at  a 
sheriff's  rale  at  one  dollar  per  barrel.  M'Kane 
immediately  fled,  and  at  the  latest  dates  had  not 
been  taken. 

"  This  wnfort'unate  affray  caused  considerable 
excitement  in  the  neighbourhood,  as  both  the 
parties  were  men  with  large  families  depending 
upon  them  and  stood  well  in  the  community." 

I  will  quote  but  one  more  paragraph,  which,, 
by  reason  of  its  monstrous  absunlity,  may  be  a 
relief  to  these  atrocious  deeds. 

"  Affair  of  Hotumr.  d 

"  We  have  just  heard  the  particulars  of  a  meet- 
ing which  took  place  on  Six  Mile  Island,  on 
Tuesday,  between  two  young  bloods  of  our  city : 
Samuel  Thurston,  agcdfftecn,  and  William  Hine,.. 
aged  thirteen,  years.  They  were  attended  bj- 
young gentleman  of  thesame  age.  Theweapoiis 
used  on  the  occasion,  were  a  couple  of  Dickson's 
best  rifles;  thedistance,  thirty  yards.  They  took 
one  fire,  without  any  damage  being  sustained 
by  either  party,  except  the  ball  of  Thurston's 
gun  passing  through  the  crown  of  Hine's  hat. 
Throagh  the  intercession  of  ike  Board  of  Honour^ 
the  challenge  was  withdrawn,  and  the  difference- 
amicably  adjusted." 

If  the  reader  will  picture  to  himself  the  kini 
of  Board  of  Honour  which  amicably  adjustea  the 
difference  between  these  two  little  boys,  who  in 
any  other  part  of  the  world  would  have  been  ami- 
cably adjusted  on  two  porters'  backs  and  soundlv 
flogged  with  birchen  rods,  he  will  be  possessed, 
no  doubt,  with  as  strong  a  sense  of  its  ludicrous 
character,  as  that  which  sets  me  laughing  when- 
ever its  image  rises  up  before  ine. 

Now,  I  wpY  al  to  ever>'  human  mind,  imbued 
with  the  commonest  of  common  sense,  and  the- 
commonest  of  common  humanity ;  to  all  dispas- 
sionate, reasoning  creatures,  of  any  shade  of  opin- 
ion ;  and  ask,  with  these  revolting  evidences  of 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


the  aUle  of  societj  which  exists  in  and  about  the  I 
slave  districts  of  America  before  them,  can  they 
have  a  doubt  of  the  real  condition  of  the  slave,  or 
can  they  for  a  moment  make  a  compromise  be- 
tween the  institution  or  any  of  its  flagrant  fearful 
features,  and  their  own  just  consciences  1  Will 
they  say  of  any  tale  of  cruelty  and  horror,  how- 
ever aggravated  in  degree,  that  it  is  improbable, 
when  they  can  turn  to  the  public  prints,  and, 
running,  read  such  signs  as  these,  laid  before 
them  by  the  men  who  rule  the  slaves :  in  their 
own  acts  and  under  their  own  hands  1 

Do  we  not  know  that  the  worst  deformity  and 
ugliness  of  slavery  are  at  once  the  cause  and  the 
enect  of  the  reckless  license  taken  by  these  free- 
bom  outlaws  1  Do  we  not  know  that  the  man 
who  has  been  bom  and  bred  among  its  wrongs  : 
who  has  seen  in  his  childhood  husbands  obliged 
at  the  word  of  command  to  flog  their  wives;  wom- 
en indecently  compelled  to  hold  up  their  own 
garments  that  men  might  lay  the  heavier  stripes 
upon  their  legs,  driven  and  harried  by  bmtal 
overseers  in  their  time  of  travail,  and  becoming 
mothers  on  the  field  of  toil,  under  the  very  lash 
ilself ;  who  has  read  in  youth,  and  seen  his  virgin 
sisters  read,  descriptions  of  runaway  men  and 
women,  and  their  disfigured  persons,  which  could 
Dot  be  published  elsewhere,  of  so  much  stock 
upon  a  farm,  or  at  a  show  of  beasts — do  we  not 
know  that  that  man,  whenever  his  wrath  is  kin- 
dled up,  will  be  a  bmtal  savage  1  Do  we  not 
know  that  as  he  is  a  coward  in  his  domestic  lite, 
stalking  among  his  shrinking  men  and  women 
slaves  armed  with  his  heavy  whip,  so  he  will  be 
a  coward  out  of  doors,  and  carrying  cowards' 
weapons  hidden  in  his  breast,  will  shoot  men 
down  and  stab  them  when  he  quarrels  1  And  if 
our  reason  did  not  teach  us  this  and  much  be- 
yond ;  if  we  were  such  idiots  as  to  close  our  eyes 
to  that  fine  mode  of  training  which  rears  up  such 
men  ;  should  we  not  know  that  they  who  among 
theirequals  stab  and  pistol  in  the  legislative  hall, 
and  in  the  counting-house,  and  on  the  market- 
pliice,  and  in  all  the  elsewhere  peaceful  pursuits 
of  life,  must  be  to  their  dependants,  even  thouj^h 
they  were  free  servants,  so  many  merciless  ai\d 
onfelenting  tyrants  1 

What  I  shall  we  declaim  against  the  ignorant 
peasantry  of  Ireland,  and  mince  the  matter  when 
these  American  taskmasters  are  in  question  1 
Shall  we  cry  shame  on  the  bmtality  of  those  who 
ham  string  cattle :  and  ^pare  the  lights  of  Free- 
dom upon  earth  who  notch  the  ears  of  men  and 
women,  cut  pleasant  posies  in  the  shrinking  flesh, 
kam  to  write  tirith  pens  of  red-hot  iron  on  the 
human  face,  rack  their  poetic  fancies  for  liveries 
of  mutilation  which  their  slave  i  shall  wear  for 
life  and  carry  to  the  grave,  br.ak  living  limbs 
as  did  the  soldiery  who  mocked  and  slew  the 
Saviour  of  the  world,  and  set  defenceless  crea- 
tures for  targets !  Shall  we  whimper  over  le- 
gends of  the  tortures  practised  on  each  other  by 
the  pagan  Indians,  and  smile  upon  the  cmelties 
of  Christian  men  I  Shall  we,  so  long  as  these 
things  last,  exult  above  the  scattered  remnants 
of  that  stately  race,  and  triumph  in  the  white  en- 
joyment of  their  broad  possessions  1  Rather, 
for  me,  restore  the  forest  and  the  Indian  village; 
in  lieu  of  stars  and  stripes,  let  some  poor  feather 
flutter  in  the  breeze ;  replace  the  streets  and 
squares  by  wigwams;  and  though  the  death- 
son^  of  a  hundred  haughty  warriors  fill  the  air, 
it  will  y>e  music  to  the  shriek  of  one  unhappy  slave. 

On  one  theme,  which  is  commonly  bewre  our 


eyes,  and  in  respect  of  which  oar  national  chai^ 
acter  is  changing  fast,  let  the  plain  Troth  be 
spoken,  and  let  us  not,  like  dastards,  beat  about 
the  bush  by  hinting  at  the  Spaniard  and  the  fierce 
Italian.  When  knives  are  drawn  by  English- 
men  in  conflict,  let  it  be  said  and  known :  "  We 
owe  this  change  to  Republican  Slavery.  These 
are  the  weapons  of  Freedom.  With  sharp  points 
and  edges  such  as  these,  Liberty  in  America 
doth  hew  and  hack  her  slaves ;  or,  failing  that 
pursuit,  her  sons  devote  them  to  a  better  tise, 
and  turn  them  on  each  other." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

CONCLUDINO   RKHARK8. 

Therk  are  many  passages  in  this  book,  whers 
I  have  been  at  some  pains  to  resist  the  tempta- 
tion of  troubling  my  readers  with  my  own  de- 
ductions and  conclusions ;  preferring  that  they 
should  judge  for  themselves,  from  such  premises 
as  I  have  laid  before  them.  My  only  object  in 
the  outset,  was,  to  carry  them  with  me  faithful- 
ly wheresoever  I  went,  and  that  task  I  have  dis- 
charged. 

But  I  may  be  pardoned,  if  on  such  a  theme  as 
the  general  character  of  the  American  people, 
and  the  general  character  of  their  social  system, 
as  presented  to  a  stranger's  eyes,  I  desire  to  ex- 
press my  own  opinions  in  a  few  words,  before  I 
bring  the  volume  to  a  close. 

They  are,  by  nature,  frank,  brave,  cordial, 
hospitable,  and  aflectionate.  Cultivation  and 
refinement  seem  but  to  enhance  theur  warmth  of 
heart  and  ardent  enthusiasm ;  and  it  is  the  pos- 
session of  these  latter  qualities  in  a  most  re- 
markable degree,  which  renders  an  educated 
American  one  of  the  must  endearing  and  most 
generous  of  friends.  I  never  was  so  won  upon^ 
as  by  this  class ;  never  yielded  up  my  full  con- 
fidence and  esteem  so  readily  and  pleasuarUy, 
as  to  them ;  never  can  make  again,  in  half  a 
year,  so  many  friends  for  whom  I  seem  to  enter- 
tain the  regard  of  half  a  life. 

These  qualities  are  natural,  I  implicitly  be- 
lieve, to  the  whole  people.  That  they  are,  how- 
ever, sadly  sapped  and  blighted  in  their  growth 
among  the  mass ;  and  that  there  are  influences 
at  work  which  endanger  them  still  more,  and 
give  but  little  present  promise  of  their  healthy 
restoration  ;  is  a  truth  that  ought  to  be  told. 

It  is  an  essential  part  of  every  national  charac- 
ter to  pique  itself  mightily  upon  its  faults,  and 
to  deduce  tokens  of  its  virtue  or  its  wisdom  frwB 
their  very  exaggeration.  One  great  blemish  ii» 
the  popular  mind  of  America,  and  the  prolific 
parent  of  an  innumerable  brood  of  evils,  is  Uni- 
versal Distrust.  Yet,  the  American  citizen 
plumes  himself  upon  this  spirit,  even  when  he  is 
sufficiently  dispassionate  to  perceive  the  rain  it 
works  ;  and  will  often  adduce  it,  in  spite  of  his 
own  reason,  as  an  instance  of  the  great  sagacity 
and  acuteness  of  the  people,  and  their  superioB 
shrewdness  and  independence. 

"  You  carry,"  says  the  stranger,  "  this  jeal- 
ousy and  distrust  into  every  transaction  of  pub- 
lic life.  By  repelling  worthy  men  from.  youD 
legislative  assemblies,  it  has  bred  up  a  class  of 
candidates  for  the  suflVage,  who,  in  their  every 
act,  disgrace  your  Institutions  and  your  people's 
choice.    It  has  rendered  you  so  fickle,  and  so 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


given  to  change,  that  your  inconstancy  has 
passed  into  a  proverb,  fur  yuu  no  sooner  set  up 
an  idol  firmly,  than  you  are  sure  to  pull  it  down 
and  dash  it  into  fragments ;  and  this,  because 
directly  you  reward  a  benefactor,  or  a  public 
servant,  you  distrust  him,  merely  because  he  ii 
rewarded  ;  and  immediately  apply  yourselves  to 
find  out,  either  that  you  have  been  too  bountiful 
in  your  acknowledgements,  or  he  remiss  in  his 
deserts.  Any  man  who  attains  a  high  place 
among  you,  from  the  President  downward,(may 
date  his  downfall  from  that  moment ;  for  any 
printed  lie  that  any  notorious  villain  pens,  al- 
though it  militate  directly  against  the  character 
and  conduct  of  a  life,  appeals  at  once  to  your 
distrust,  and  is  believed.  You  will  strain  at  a 
gnat  in  the  way  of  trustfulness  and  confidence, 
however  fairly  won  and  well  deserved  ;  but  you 
V'iil  swallow  a  whole  caravan  of  camels,  if  they 
be  laden  with  unworthy  doubts  and  mean  sus- 
picions. Is  this  well,  think  you,  or  likely  to  ele- 
vate the  character  of  the  governors  or  the  gov- 
erned among  you  1" 

The  answer  is  invariably  the  same :  "  There's 
freedom  of  opinion  here,  you  know  Every 
man  thinks  for  himself,  and  we  are  not  to  be 
easily  overreached.  That's  how  our  people 
eome  to  be  suspicious." 

Another  prominent  feature  is  the  love  of 
*' smart"  dealing,  which  gilds  over  many  a 
swindle  and  gross  breach  of  trust ;  many  a  de- 
falcation, public  and  private ;  and  enables  many 
A  knave  to  hold  his  head  up  with  the  best,  who 
well  deserves  a  halter — ^though  it  has  not  been 
without  its  retributive  operation,  for  this  smart- 
ness has  dono  more  in  a  few  years  to  impair 
the  puUic  credit,  and  to  cripple  the  public  re- 
soarces,  than  dull  honesty,  however  rash,  could 
iiave  eflected  in  a  century.  The  merits  of  a 
broken  speculation,  or  a  bankruptcy,  or  of  a 
soeeessful  scoundrel,  are  not  guaged  by  its  or 
liis  obsenrance  of  the  golden  rule,  "  Do  as  you 
would  be  dene  by,"  but  are  considered  with  ref 
'ereoce  to  their  smartness.  I  recollect,  ou  bnth 
'Occasions  of  our  passing  that  ill-fated.  Cairo  on 
tte  Mississippi,  remarking  on  the  bad  effects 
sneh  gross  deceits  must  have  when  they  explo- 
de', in  generating  a  wtnit  of  confidence  abroad, 
a  'MVMiraging  foreign  investment ;  but  I  was 
gr.  /).ii  i<  lerstand  that  this  was  a  very  sman 
fi  tmv  'j  t  vhich  a  deal  of  r.ioney  had  been 
r.iaii ,  ■"  hat  its  smartes.  /eatuie  was,  that 
ti.< ;  lese  things  abroad  in  a  very  short 

timt,  biiu  speculated  again  bs  freely  as  ever. 
'TbefoUowing  dialogue  I  ha\e  held  a  hundred 
times:  "Is  it  not  a  very  disgraceful  circum- 
stance that  such  a  man  as  So-and-so  should  be 
acquiring  a  large  property  by  the  most  infamous 
and  odious  means,  and,  notwithstanding  all  the 
«rimes  of  which  he  has  been  guilty,  should  be 
tolerated  and  abetted  by  your  citizens  1  He  is 
a  public  nuisance,  is  he  not  1"  "  Yes,  sir,"  "  A 
convicted  liar  1"  "Yes,  sir."  "He  has  been 
kicked,  and  cuflfed,  and  caned  1"  "Yes,  sir." 
^'  And  he  is  utterly  dishonourable,  debased,  and 
profligate!"  "Yes,  sir."  "In  the  name  of 
wonder,  then,  what  is  his  merit  1"  "  Well,  sir, 
he  is  a  stiart  man." 

In  likt  manner,  all  kinds  of  deficient  and  im- 
politic usbges  are  referred  to  the  national  love 
«f  trade ;  though,  oddly  enough,  it  would  be  a 
weigbty  charge  against  a  forever,  that  he  re- 


garded the  Amerieanb  as  a  trading  people. 
The  love  of  trade  is  assigned  as  a  reason  for 
that  comfortless  custom,  so  very  prevalent 
in  country  towns,  of  married  persons  living  in 
hotels,  having  no  fireside  of  their  own,  and  sel- 
dom meeting  from  early  morning  until  late  at 
night,  but  at  the  hasty  public  meals.  The  love 
of  trade  is  a  reason  why  the  literature  of  Amer- 
ica is  to  remain  forever  unprotected  :  "  For 
we  are  a  trading  people,  and  don't  care  for  poe- 
try," though  we  do,  by-ihe-way,  profess  to  be 
very  proud  of  our  poets ;  while  healthful  amuse- 
ments, cheerful  means  of  recreation,  and  whole- 
some fancies,  must  fade  before  the  stern  utili- 
tarian joys  of  trade. 

These  three  oharacteristice  are  strongly  pre- 
sented at  every  turn  full  in  the  stranger's  view. 
But  the  foul  growth  of  America  has  a  more  tan- 
gled root  than  this,  and  it  strikes  its  fibres  deep 
in  its  licentious  Press. 

Schools  may  be  erected  east,  west,  north, 
and  south ;  pupils  be  taught,  and  masters  rear- 
ed, by  scores  upon  scores  <if  thousands ;  col- 
leges may  thrive,  ctKirches  may  be  craiimied, 
temperance  may  be  difTused,  and  advancing 
knowledge  in  all  other  forms  walk  through  the 
kmd  with  giant  strides ;  but,  while  the  news- 
paper press  of  America  is  in,  or  near,  its  pres- 
ent abject  state,  high  moral  improvement  in 
that  country  is  hopeless.  Year  by  year  it  mnst 
and  will  go  back ;  year  by  year  the  tone  of  pub- 
lic feeling  must  sink  lower  down ;  year  by  year 
the  Congress  aiid  the  Senate  must  become  of 
less  account  before  all  decent  men  ;  and,  year 
by  year,  the  memory  of  the  Great  Fathers  of 
the  Revolution  must  be  outraged  more  and  more 
in  the  bad  life  of  their  degenerate  child. 

Among  the  herd  of  journals  which  are  pub- 
lished in  the  States,  there  are  some,  the  reader 
scarcely  need  be  told,  of  character  and  credit. 
From  personal  intercourse  with  ascomplished 
<];cntlemen  connected  with  publications  of  this 
clag^i  i  have  derived  both  pleasure  and  profit. 
But  the  name  of  these  is  Few,  and  c  f  the  others 
Iiegioa ;  and  the  influence  of  the  good  is  pow- 
«!rles3  to  counteract  the  mortal  poison  of  the  bad. 
Among  the  gentry  of  America;  among  the 
well-informed  and  moderate  ;  in  the  learned 
professions ;  at  the  bar  and  on  the  bench,  thero 
is,  as  there  can  be,  but  one  opinion  in  refer- 
ence to  the  vicious  character  of  these  infa-. 
mous  journals.  It  is  sometimes  contended — I 
will  not  say  strangely,  for  it  is  natural  to  seek 
excuses  for  such  a  disgrace — that  their  influ- 
ence is  not  so  great  as  a  visits  would  suppose. 
I  must  be  pardoned  for  saying  that  there  is  no 
warrant  for  this  plea,  and  that  every  fact  and 
circumstance  tends  directly  to  the  opposite  con- 
clusion. 

When  any  man,  of  any  grade  of  desert  in  in- 
tellect or  character,  can  climb  to  any  public  dis- 
tinction, no  matter  what,  in  America,  without 
first  grovelling  down  upon  the  earth,  and  bend- 
ing the  knee  before  this  monster  of  depravity ; 
when  any  private  excellence  is  safe  from  its  at- 
tacks, and  when  any  social  confidence  is  left  un- 
broken by  it,  or  any  tie  of  social  decency  and 
honour  is  held  in  the  least  regard;  when  any 
man  in  that  Free  Country  has  freedom  of  opin- 
ion, and  presumes  to  think  for  himself,  and 
speak  for  himself,  without  humble  reference  to  a 
I  censorship  which,  for  its  rampant  iginorance  and 


NOTES   ON   AMERICA. 


people, 
eason  for 
prevaleor 
living  in 
and  Bel- 
li late  at 
The  love 
of  Amer- 
:  "  For 
for  poe- 
!S8  to  be 
il  amuae- 
id  whole- 
ern  utiU- 


kue  diahonesty,  be  atterly  loathes  and  deapiaes 
in  his  heart ;  when  those  who  moat  acutely  feel 
Its  infamy  and  the  reproach  it  casts  upon  the 
nation,  and  who  most  denounce  it  to  each  other, 
dare  to  set  their  heels  upon  and  crush  it  openly, 
in  the  sight  of  all  men ;  then,  I  will  believo  that 
its  influence  i^  lessening,  and  men  are  returning 
to  their  marly  aonies.  But  while  that  Press  has 
its  evil  eye  m  every  house,  and  ita  black  hand  in 
everp  appoi^tinent  in  the  state,  from  a  president 
to  a  postman ;  while,  with  ribald  slander  for  ita 
ooly  atock  in  trade,  it  ia  the  atandard  literature 
of  an  enormous  class,  who  must  find  their  read- 
tog  hi  a  newspaper,  or  they  will  not  read  at  ail ; 
M>  long  must  its  odium  be  upon  the  country's 
head,  and  so  long  must  the  evil  it  works,  be 
iifaunly  visible  in  the  Republic. 

To  those  who  are  accustomed  to  the  leadhig 
English  Journals,  or  to  the  respectable  journals 
of  the  Continent  of  Europe ;  U  those  who  are 
aoeustomed  to  anything  else  in  print  and  paper ; 
it  would  be  impossible,  without  an  amount  of  ex- 
tract for  which  I  have  neither  space  nor  inclina- 
tion, to  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  this  flrightful 
engine  in  America.  But  if  any  man  desire  con- 
firmation (rf'my  statement  on  this  head,  let  him 
lapair  to  any  place  in  this  city  of  London  where 
scattered  numbers  of  these  pubUeatioua  are  to 
be  found ;  and  there  let  him  form  his  own  opin- 
ion.* 

It  would  be  well,  there  can  be  no  donbt,  fur 
the  American  pe<^e  as  a  whole,  if  they  loved 
the  Real  less,  and  the  Ideal  somewhat  more.  It 
would  be  weU,  if  there  were  greater  enoourage- 
nent  to  lightness  of  heart  and  gayety,  and  a 
wider  cultivation  of  what  is  beautiful,  without 
being  eminently  and  directly  usefiil.  But  then, 
i  think  the  general  remonstrance,  "  we  are  a 
new  country,"  wtiicbia  ao  often  «d«anoed  as  an 
excuse  for  defects  which  arc  quite  unjustifiable, 
a»  being,  of  right,  only  the  slew  growth  of  an 
<oid  one,  may  be  very  reasonably  urged;  and  I 
yet  hope  to  hear  of  Utere  being  some  other  na- 
tional amusonent  in  the  United  States,  besides 
■ewspaper  politics. 

They eeitainly  are  not  ahumorens  people,  and 
their  temperament  always  imprsssed  me  as  being 
«f  a  doll  and  gloomy  character.  In  shrewdness 
of  remarii,  and  a  certain  cast-iron  quaintneas,  the 
Yankees,  or  people  of  New<-Engtand,  nnqaeetion- 
abiy  take  the  lead ;  as  they  do  ia  moet  other  ev- 
idencesofinteltigence.  But  in  travelling  aboat, 
«at  of  the  large  cities ;  as  I  have  xeauaked  in 
fermer  parts  of  this  volume ;  I  was  quite  op- 
pressed by  the  prevailingserioosness  and  melan- 
choly air  af  business :  which  was  so  general  and 
unvarying,  that  at  every  new  town  I  came  to,  I 
seemed  to  meet  the  very  same  people  whom  I 
had  left  behind  me,  at  the  last.  Such  defects  as 
are  perceptibly  in  the  national  manners,  seem,  to 
me,  to  be  referable,  i^  a  great  degree,  to  this 
cause  -.  which  has  generated  a  dull,  sullen  per- 
sistence in  coarse  usages,  and  rejected  the  gra- 
ces of  life  as  undeserving  of  attention.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  Washington,  who  was  alw^ays 
must  scrupulous  and  exact  on  points  of  ceremo- 


*  Or,  let  him  refer  to  an  able,  and  perfectly  truthful  arti- 
cle, in  The  Foreign  Quarterly  Review,  published  in  the  pres- 
ent month  of  October ;  to  which  my  attention  has  been 
attracted,  since  those  elieets  have  been  passings  through  the 
press.  He  will  tlud  some  specimens  there,  by  no  means  re- 
markable to  any  man  who  has  been  in  America,  bat  sulli- 
oieatly  striking;  to  one  who  has  not. 


ny,  perceived  the  tendency  towards  this  mistake, 
even  in  liis  time ;  and  did  his  utmost  to  cor- 
rect it. 

I  cannot  hold  with  other  writers  on  these  sulv 
jeots  that  the  prevalence  of  various  forms  of 
dissent  in  America,  is  in  any  way  attributable 
to  the  non-existence  there,  of  an  established 
church :  indeed,  I  think  the  temper  of  the  peo- 
ple, if  it  admitted  of  such  an  Institution  being 
founded  among  them,  would  lead  them  to  de- 
sert it,  as  a  matter  of  course,  merely  because  it 
was  established.  But,  supposing  it  to  exist,  I 
doubt  its  probable  efficacy  in  summoning  the 
wandering  sheep  to  one  great  fold,  simply  be- 
cause of  the  immense  amount  of  dissent  whick 
prevails  at  home :  and  because  I  do  not  find  in 
America  any  one  form  of  religion  with  which 
we  in  Europe,  or  even  in  England,  are  unae- 
qnainted.  Dissenters  resort  thither  in  great 
numbers,  as  other  people  do,  simply  because  it 
is  a  land  of  resort :  and  great  settlements  of 
them  are  founded,  because  ground  can  be  pur- 
chased, and  towns  and  villages  reared,  where 
there  were  none  of  the  biin>  creation  before. 
But  even  the  Shakers  en  lea  from  England : 
our  country  is  not  v  n   to  Mr.  Joseph 

Smith,  the  opostle  of  .  or  to  his 

benighted  disciples:  I  oa  chtid  religious 
scenes  myself  in  some  uf  , :  ulous  towns 
which  can  hardly  be  8urpa.>^.  u  b>  a..  American 
camp-meeting;  and  I  am  not  aware  that  any 
instance  of  superstitious  imposture  on  the  one 
hand,  and  superstitious  credulity  on  the  other, 
has  had  its  origin  in  the  United  States,  which 
we  cannot  more  than  parallel  by  the  precedents 
of  Mrs.  Southcote,  Mary  Tofts,  the  rabbit-breed- 
er, or  even  Mr.  Thom  of  Canterbury :  whieh 
latter  case  arose,  some  time  after  the  dark  ages 
had  passed  away. 

The  Republican  Institutions  of  America  uo' 
dottbtedly  lead  the  people  to  assert  theur  self- 
respect  and  their  equality ;  but  a  traveller  is 
bound  to  bear  those  Institutions  in  his  mind, 
and  not  hastily  to  reeent  the  near  approach  of 
a  dass  of  strangers,  who,  at  home,  would  keep 
akiof.  This  cfaarat^eristie,  when  it  was  tine.' 
tureed  with  no  fo<di«h  pride,  and  stopiped  short 
of  no  honest  service,  never  oflended  me :  and  I 
very  seldom,  if  ever,  experienced,  its  rude  or  oih 
becoming  display.  Onee  or  twice  it  was  comi- 
cally developed,  as  in  the  fbUowing  case :  bat 
this  was  ao  amusing  incident,  and  not  the  rulo 
nor  near  it. 

I  wanted  a  pair  of  boots  at  a  certain  town,  for 
I  had  none  to  travel  in,  but  those  with  the  mem> 
orable  cork  soles,  which  were  much  too  hot  for 
the  fiery  decks  of  a  steamboat.  I  therefore  sent 
a  message  to  an  artist  in  boots,  importing,  with 
my  compliments,  that  I  should  be  happy  to  see 
him,  if  he  would  do  me  the  polite  favour  to 
call.  He  vjry  kindly  returned  for  answer  that 
he  would  "  look  round"  at  six  o'clock  that  even- 
ing. 

I  was  lying  on  the  sofa,  with  a  book  and  a 
wineglass,  at  about  that  time,  when  the  door 
opened,  and  a  gentleman  in  a  stiff  cravat,  with- 
in a  year  or  two  on  either  side  of  thirty,  enter- 
ed, in  his  hat  and  gloves ;  walked  up  to  the 
looking-glass ;  arranged  his  hair ;  took  off  his 
gloves ;  slowly  produced  a  measure  from  the 
uttermost  depths  of  his  coat-pocket ;  and  re- 
quested me,  ill  a  languid  tone,  to  "  unfix"  my 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


u   mm 


U    il.6 


^/. 


.e^.^V 


/^ 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WIST  MAIN  STRUT 

WIBSTIR.N.Y.  MSSO 

(716)  •73-4503 


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J 


fc 


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NOTES  ON  AMERICA. 


■traps.  I  eonpliecl,  bat  located  with  aome  eu- 
riosity  at  his  hat,  which  waa  atill  npon  hia  head. 
It  might  have  been  that,  or  it  might  have  been 
the  heat— but  he  took  it  off.  Then  he  aat  him- 
self down  on  a  chair  opposite  to  me ;  rested  an 
•nn  on  each  knee ;  and,  leaning  forward  Tery 
much,  took  from  the  gronnd,  by  a  great  eflbrt, 
the  apecimen  of  metropolitan  workmanship 
which  I  had  just  pulled  off— whistling,  |rieas- 
antly,  as  he  did  so.  He  turned  it  orer  and 
over ;  surveyed  it  with  a  contempt  no  language 
can  express ;  and  inquired  if  I  wished  him  to 
fix  me  a  boot  like  that?  I  courteously  replied, 
thk:  provided  the  boots  were  large  enough,  I 
would  leave  the  rest  to  him ;  that  if  convenient 
and  practicable,  I  should  not  object  to  their 
bearing  some  resemblance  to  the  model  then 
before  him ;  but  that  I  would  be  entirely  ^ided 
by,  and  wouU  beg  to  leave  the  whole  subject  to 
his  judgment  and  discretion.  "  You  an't  par- 
tickler  about  this  scoop  in  the  heel,  I  suppose 
theni"  says  he :  'we  don't  foller  that,  here." 
I  jepeated  my  last  observation.  He  looked  at 
hlnaelf  in  the  glaas  again ;  went  chwer  to  it  to 
dash  a  grain  or  two  of  dust  out  of  the  comer 
of  hia  eye ;  and  settled  his  cravat.  All  this 
time,  my  leg  and  foot  were  in  the  air.  *'  Near- 
ly ready,  sir  V  I  inquired.  "  Well,  pretty  nigh," 
he  said ;  "  keep  steady."  I  kept  as  steady  as  I 
could,  both  in  foot  and  face ;  and  having  by  this 
time  got  the  dust  out,  and  found  his  pencil-case, 
he  measured  me,  and  made  the  necessary  notes. 
Whea  he  had  finished,  he  fell  into  his  old  atti- 
tude, and  takhig  up  the  boot  again,  mused  for 
some  time.  "  And  this,"  he  said,  at  last,  "  is 
an  English  boot,  is  it  1  This  is  a  London  boot, 
oh!"  "That,  sir,"  I  replied,  "is  a  London 
boot."  He  mused  over  it  again,  after  the  man- 
ner of  Hamlet  with  Yorick's  scull ;  nodded  his 
bead,  as  who  should  say  "  I  pity  the  institutions 
that  led  to  the  production  of  this  boot !"  rose ; 
pot  up  his  pencil,  notes,  and  paper— glancing  at 
himself  in  the  glass,  all  the  time — put  on  his 
hat,  draw  on  his  gloves  very  slowly,  and  finally 
waUced  out.  When  he  had  been  gone  about  a 
minute,  the  door  reopened,  and  his  hat  and  his 
head  reappeared.  He  looked  round  the  room, 
and  at  the  boot  again,  which  was  still  lying  on 
the  floor;  appeared  thoughtfiil  for  a  minute; 
and  then  said,  "  Well,  good  arteraoon."  "Good 
afternoon,  sir,"  said  I ;  and  that  was  the  end  of 
tiie  interview. 

There  is  but  one  other  head  on  which  I  wish 
to  oflSsr  a  remark :  and  that  has  reference  to  the 
fublic  health.  In  so  vast  a  country,  where  there 


t'i',  j"    ■;  iri,  - 


■>,  •:  A  '■■"v_  .  '»i!       ..         ...  ^ 


rre  thousands  of  millions  of  acres  of  land  yet 
unsettled  and  uncleared,  and  on  every  rood  of 
which,  vegetable  decomposition  is  sn'nually  ta. 
king  place ;  where  there  are  so  many  great  riv- 
en, and  such  opposite  varieties  of  climate; 
there  cannot  foil  to  be  a  great  amount  of  sick- 
ness  at  certain  seasons.  But  I  may  venture  to 
say,  after  convening  with  many  membere  of  the 
medical  profession  in  Americs,  that  I  am  not 
singular  in  the  opinion  that  much  of  the  disease 
which  does  prevail,  might  be  avoided,  if  a  few 
common  precautions  were  observed.  Greater 
means  of  personal  cleanliness  are  indispensable- 
to  this  end ;  the  custom  of  hastily  swallowing 
bige  quantities  of  annual  food,  three  times  » 
day,  and  ruahing  back  to  sedentary  punuits  af- 
ter each  meal,  must  be  changed ;  the  gentler 
sex  must  go  more  wisely  clad,  and  take  more 
healthy  exeroise ;  and  in  the  letter  clause,  ther 
males  must  be  included  also.  Above  all,  in  pub» 
lie  institutions,  and  throughout  the  whole  of  ev-. 
ery  town  and  city,  the  system  of  ventilation^ 
and  drainage,  and  removal  of  impurities,  re> 
quires  te  be  thoroughly  revised.  There  is  oo>. 
local  legislature  in  America  which  may  not  study 
Mr.  Chad  wick's  excellent  Report  upon  the  San- 
itary condition  of  our  Labouring  Classes,  wiUk 
immense  advantage. 

>4' 

I  RAVB  now  arrived  at  the  close  of  this  book- 
I  have  little  reason  to  believe,  from  certain 
warnings  I  have  had  since  I  returned  to  Eng- 
land, that  it  will  be  tenderly  or  favourably  re- 
ceived by  the  American  people ;  and  as  I  have 
written  the  trath  in  relation  to  the  mass  of  those 
who  form  their  judgment  and  express  their 
opinions,  it  will  be  seen  that  I  have  nu  desire  to 
court,  by  any  adventitious  means,  the  popular 
applause. 

It  is  enough  forme  to  know,  that  what  I  have 
set  down  in  these  pages,  cannot  cost  me  a  sin- 
gle friend  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic, 
who  is,  in  anything,  deserving  of  the  name.! 
For  the  rest,  I  put  my  trust  implicitly  in  the 
spirit  in  which  they  have  been  conceived  and 
penned,  and  I  can  bide  my  time.  ? 

I  have  made  no  reference  to  my  reception, 
nor  have  I  suffered  it  to  influence  me  in  what  I 
have  written ;  for,  in  either  case,  I  should  have 
offered  but  a  sorry  acknowledgment,  compared 
with  that  I  bear  within  my  breast,  towards 
those  partial  readere  of  my  former  hooka  acrese 
the  water,  who  met  me  with  an  open  hand,  an4 
not  with  one  that  closed  upon  an  iron  moixle. 

.10 

^a 

.    ifi 
;n 


Kill 


es  of  land  7«t 
every  rood  of 
is  annually  ts. 
Bany  great  riv. 
»  of  climate; 
nount  of  aick- 
say  venture  to 
lembersufthe 
hat  I  am  not 
ofthediseaoe 
tided,  if  a  few- 
red.    Greater 
indispensable 
ly  swallowing 
hree  times  » 
y  pursuits  af. 
;  the  gentler, 
id  take  more 
ft  clause,  thtf 
re  all,  in  pub» 
whole  of  ev-: 
f  ventilation^ 
npurities,  r»> 
There  is  no. 
nay  not  study 
pon  the  San- 
[)Ia88es,  witb 


of  this  bonk> 
rrom  certain 
rned  to  Eng- 
ivnurahly  re- 
nd as  I  have 
lass  of  those 
xpress  their 
no  desire  to 
the  popular 

what  I  have 
It  me  a  sin*. 
be  Atlantie» 
'  the  name, 
icitly  in  the 
Dceived  and 
f 
y  receptioiH. 
le  in  what  1 
should  have 
t«  compared 
St,  towards 
ooks  acroae 
n  hand,  anA 
nmuixle.  .i> 

si 

-ia 


^ 


.a 

4> 


-    •■m 


■.^"■\^~'^:¥A 


o  ■■'•.r 


ep** 


sJi"?.  i^eH:i"<j*j.fe'-ajj;; 


**;;'■*'■  'j'-f     s  f  *  » 


HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  NEW-YORK, 


Will  publish  in  two  or  three  Weeks, 


\:t 


v:^ 


™>. 


-air 


INCIDENTS     OF     TRAVEL 


IN 


YUCATAN. 


ST 


JOHN    L.    STEPHENS,   ESQ. 


AUTHOH  or 


.*M INCIDENTS  OF  TRAVEL  IN  ARABIA  PETR^.  EGYPT,  AND  THE  HOLY  LAND,"  "INCIDRNTS 
^  OF  IRAVEL  IN  GREECE,  TURKEY,  RUSSIA,  AND  POLAND,"  AND  "INCIDENTS 

*^»..    ,  OF  TRAVEL  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA,  CHIAPAS,  dec." 


Jisto    aiuf 
if' 


Ihi.  /     ILLUSTRATED  WITH  ABOUT  ONE  HUNDRED  ENGRAVINGS,  FROM 


DRAWINGS  BY  F.  CAtHERWOOD,  ESQ. 


•^*n  ^.T--.30.*«A,|.^t.,^..j:y  S     Iff    TWO    VOLUMES. 

J^ovember  2,  1842. 


.  (,ii,,,-i 


mtmHt 


J 


•■■'■  i-,-U<' 


New-York,  1842 


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from  the  Anglo-Norman  Invasion 
to  the  Union  of  the  Country  with 
Great  Brlt.iin.  By  W.  C.  Tay- 
lor. With  Additions,  bv  Will- 
iam Sampson,  Esfi.  3  vols.  I8mo. 
[Family  Library,  Nos.  51  and  52.] 

NORTHERN  COASTS  OF 
AMERICA.— Historical  View  of 
the  Pnigrem  of  Discovery  on  the 
more  Northern  Coast*  of  America. 
ByP.F.Tytler.Esq.  18mu.  Map, 
&c.    [Family  Library,  No.  53.] 

mJBIA  AND  ABYSSINIA.— Nu- 
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ties, Arts,  Reli^on,  Literature, 
and  Natural  Historv.  By  the  Rev. 
Michael  Russell,  'J.L.D.  18mo. 
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gious Ceremonies  of  the  Modem 
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History — Continued. 

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ITALY. — A  Compendious  History 
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DENMARK,  SWEDEN,  AND 
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MICHIGAN.— History  of  Michigan, 
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Lnnman.  ISmo.  [Family  Libni 
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NAPOLEON'S  RUSSIAN  EXPBr 
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Emperor  Napoleon  in  the  year 
1812.  By  General  Count  Philip 
de  Segiir.  3  vols.  I8ino.  Map. 
[Family  Library,  Nos.  141  and 
143.] 

HISTORY  OF  PHILOSOPHY.- 

An  Epitome  of  the  History  of  Phi- 
losophy. Being  the  Work  adopt- 
ed by  the  University  of  France  mr 
Instruction  in  the  Colleges  and 
High  Schools.  Translated  frow 
the  French,  with  Adilitioiis,  and  a 
Continuation  of  the  History.  By 
C.  S.  Henr}-,  D.D.  2  vols.  ISmo 
[Family  Libiaiy,  Nos.  143  and 
144.] 

SPALDING'S  ITALY.— Italy  and 
the  Italian  Islnndf,.  By  William 
Spalding,  E.w).  3  vols.  ISino. 
Map,  &c.  [Family  Library,  Ni« 
151,  153,  and  15.1.] 

GOLDSMITH'S  GHEECE.-Hia 
tory  of  Greece,  Bv  Dr.  Oulilsmith. 
With  Notes,  by  .Miss  Elizn  Rob. 
ins,  Author  of  "  Amenuuu  Piipulat 
Lessons,"  d:c.     K^ni'i. 


Biogrigfkjf* 


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rjr  oT  New-YoiiL  Br  Wm.  Daa- 
MA.    1  ToU.  I81B0.    BngraTuig*. 

GOLDSMITH'S  ROME.— Hutorr 
of  Room.  By  Dr.  Ooldamith. 
With  VotMh  by  Hanrjr  W.  H«c> 
tert.    ISmo. 

MOORS  OF  SPAIN.— HiftoiT  of 
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ft«m  the  Vrenck  of  M.  Florimo. 
To  which  it  addod,  a  Brief  Ao 
eoant  of  the  Riee  and  Decline  of 
the  Mohammedan  Empire— tho 
Idteratiue,  Science,  and  Religion 
«f  the  Araba— and  the  Freient  Con- 
ditioB  of  Mohammedaniim.  16mo. 

liOUISIANA.— Hietonr  of  Looiaia' 
na,  fiom  its  flnt  Duoorerr  and 
Settlement  to  the  Freient  Time. 
By  B.  Runner. 

THE  LUTHERAN  REFORMA- 
TION.—Lather  and  the  Lutheran 
'  Refoinntion.  Br  Rer.  John  Scott, 
A.M.    2rola.  iBmo.     'ortreiu. 

BEFORMATION  IN  FILVNCE.— 
Hiatoiy  of  the  Reformation  in 
Franoe.  By  Ror.  Edward  Snwd> 
ley.    8  roll.  ISmo.    Fortrait. 

UNCLE  FHILrP'S  VIROINU.— 
Uncle  Philip'*  Gonrenations  about 
the  History  of  Viiginia.  ISmo. 
With  Ensisving*.  [Boya>  and 
Girl*'  Library,  No.  21.] 


UNCLE  PHILIP'S  NEW-YORK. 

—  Uncle  Philip's  Cohrtnationa 
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tory of  New- York.  ISno.  En< 
[Boya*  and  Oiria'  Li- 


gramnn.    [Hoya'  an 
braryVNoa.  S3  and  M.] 


AMERICAN    HISTORY Talea 

fiwm  American  Uiatoiy.  By  Miaa 
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gravinn.  [Boya'  and  Girls'  Li- 
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AMERICAN  REVOLUTION — 
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the  History  of  the  War  of  1779. 
By  B.  B.  Thatcher,  Eaq.  ISmo. 
[Boya'  and  Oirla'  Libiaiy,  No.  96.] 

LOST  GREENLAND.— Uncle 
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(Boya'  and  Girla'  Library,  No.  &.J 

UNCLE  FHU.IP'S  MA8SACHU- 
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SALLUST.— SdtaaMi  HiHna  «| 
the  Jugwrtkiae  War  iM  1/  ih« 
Conapiracy  at  CatiUne.  Tibmi* 
lated  by  WilUaa  Roae,  A.M. 
ISmo.  Portrait.  CCiaaaioai  Li- 
brary, No.  ft.] 

XENOPHON.-XsnafhoM'a  Hiatw 
nr  of  the  Expedition  of  Cyma,  and 
Account  of  the  Inatitution  of  Cy 
ma.  Tranalated  by  Edwaid  8p^ 
Ban,  Eaq.,  and  Hon.  Manrice  Aa^ 
ly  Cooper,  M.A.  t  vria.  ISma. 
[Claaaical  Library,  Noa.  1  and  9.1 

CjESAR.— CMai'a  Commentariaa 
on  the  Waia  in  Gao'  the  Cirfl 
War,  and  the  Alezat. '  :an,  Afri- 
can, and  Snaniah  Ware.  Trana- 
lated by  William  Duncan.  Srola. 
ISmo.  Portrait.  [Classical  Li- 
brary, Nos.  6  and  7.] 

T  H  U  C  Y  D 1 D  B  S.— Thneydidea'li 
Hiatoiyof  the  Peloponnesian  War. 
TnuuUted  by  William  Smithy 
A.M.  3  rola.  18m6.  Portrait. 
[Claaaical  Library,  Noa.  99  A  93.] 

LIVY.— Livy'a  History  of  Rome. 
Translated  by  George  Baker,  ft 
roll.  ISmo.  Portrait.  [Claaaical 
Library,  Noa.  24, 9ft,  96, 97,  A  98.] 

HERODOTUS.— Heradutua'a  Gen- 
eral History.  Tranalated  by  Rer. 
William  Beloe.  3  vols.  ISmiK 
Portrait.  [Claaaical  Library,  Nee. 
29,  30,  and  31.] 


SPARKS'S  AMERICAN  BIOORA- 
PHY.— Library  of  American  Bii^ 
gia^y.  Edited  by  Jaied  Sparks, 
hLJi.    10  vote.  Iftno.    Portiaita, 

ToL  I.  oontaiaa  Life  of  John  Stark, 
by  B.  Everett.- Life  of  Charie* 
Bimekdan  Brawn,  by  W.  H.  Piw 
eott.— life  of  Richard  Montmm- 
•ijr,  by  John  Anaatrong.- Life  at 
Bthan  Allen,  by  Jand  Sparks. 

VoL  n.  Life  of  AlesanderWilaott, 
by  Wm.  B.  O.  Peabody.— Life  of 
Cfntaia  John  Smith,  by  Gaoiga  S. 
Kuiard. 

VoL  in.  Lift  and  Tnaaon  «f  Baa*- 
diet  AnoU,  by  Jaied  Spaika. 

▼oL  IV.  Life  of  Anthoar  WayiM,  by 
John  Annatrongr— Lin  of  SirBwn- 
tr  Van*,  by  0.^.  UplMm. 

▼«(.  V.  Ufa  of  John  BUot,  the  Apoe- 
tla  of  tka  Indiana,  bjr  Coavan 
Ihanoia. 

▼oL  VI.  Lift  of  WaUam  FinkMr, 
^  Henry  Wheaton.— Life  of  WiU- 
im  BUeiy,  by  B.  T.  Channiaf  .— 
Life  of  Cotton  Mather,  by  Wm.  B. 
O.  Paabodr. 

Vd.  VH.  Life  ofSirWilUamPhipa, 
by  Fiaaeia  Bowen.— Life  of  Inaal 
ntnam,  by  Wm.  B.  O.  Peabody. 
— Memoir  ofLuoratiaMariaDavid- 
•OB,  bf  Miaa  Sedgwick.- Life  of 
David  Hittenhouaa,  by  James  Ren- 


voi. VHL  Lifbof  JonadwaBdwaida, 
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Brainerd,  by  Wm.  B.  O.  Peabody. 

Vol.  IX.  Life  of  Baron  Steuben,  by 
Francia  Bowen.— Life  of  Sebastiaa 
Cabot,  br  Charles  Hayward,  Jr.— 
Life  of  William  Eaton,  by  Corne- 
lius C.  Felton. 

Vol.  X.  Life  of  Robert  Fulton,  by  J. 
Renwick.- Life  of  Henry  Hudson, 
1^  Henry  R.  Cleveland.— Life  of 
Joseph  Warren,  by  Alexander  H. 
Eventt.— Life  of  Father  Mar- 
ietta,, by  Jared  SpaAs. 


BIOGRAPHY. 

JOHN  JAY.— Life  of  John  Jay; 
with  Selections  from  hia  Cmrre- 
aiioadenee  and  Miaeellaneoaa  Pa- 

rin.    By  hia  Son,  William  Jay. 
vda.  Svo.    PCHTtrait. 
PLUTARCH.  Svo.— PlutaroVs 
Lives.    Translated  froan  the  Ori- 


inal  Greek,  with  Noiee,  and  a 
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hoHM,  MJ>.,  and  A^am  Lang' 


£1 


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AARON  BURR.-MaaMin  of  Aanm 
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BURR'S  PRIVATE  JOURNAL.— 
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apondenoe.  Edited  byM.L.Davia. 
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GOVERNOR  LIVINaSTON.-Me- 
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WiUt  EztncU  from  his  Corre- 
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DUCHESS  D'ABRANTES.— Me- 
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TAYLOR'S  RECORDS.- Records 
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RBV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.— 
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LORD  EDWARD  FITZGBRALa 
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CLARKE,  THE  TRAVELLER.— 
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ielClariw.  By  Rer.  William  Ot- 
ter.   Svo. 

8TBWART  AND  THE  "WB8 
TBRN  LAND-PIRATB."-Hi»- 
tory  of  Virgil  A.  Stewart,  and  Ida 
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poainr  the  Great  <^  Weatem  Land- 
Piratr"andhif  Gang:  aiaooftha 
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aodataa:  alao of  tha  Execution  ^f 
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M'OUIRB'8  WASHINGTON. 

—The  Religious  OainienB  and 
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THB  NBCROMANCER8.— Livsa 
af  tha  Neeroasaaoen ;  or,  an  Ao 
eauntof  the  moat  aminent  Persona 
in  Suooaasirs  Agee,  who  have 
tdinmed  for  thsnuwlves,  or  to  whom 
has  been  ioiputed  by  others,  the 
exereise  of  Magioal  Power.  By 
William  Godwin. 

LUCIEN  BONAPARTB.-M«moim 
of  Luoien  Bonaparta  (PrioM  of 
Canino).    ISmo. 

EDMUND  KEAN.— Life  of  B4- 
mnnd  Keen.  Br  Barry  Comwa*! 
(B  W.  Procter,  Baq.).    ISmo 


War  mS  !/lk« 

or  CatUJM.  TraMi> 
WilliM  Rim,  A.M. 
rtnut.  CCiMHoai  Li- 
».J 

f^Xwufhim's  Hiafop 
tpaditiom  of  Cynu,  sad 

the  loititutiiMi  of  Ct 
iltMd  b/  Edwaid  Spak 
kwl  Hoa.  Maarioa  A& 

M.A.  t  vrit.  ISma. 
Ubraiy,  Not.  1  and  S.1 

usaufs  CaaunentariM 
m  in  Oau'  the  CiVil 
the  Alezat. '''  mo,  AfU- 
paaith  Wan.  Tnuw- 
illiam  Danoaa.  StoIi. 
■trait.  [ClaMioal  Li- 
6  and  7.] 

i  D  B  S.— Thacjrdidea^ 
he  Peloponneaian  War. 
by  WiUiam  Smithy 
roll.  ISmb.  Portrait, 
iibrary,  Noe.99deS3.1 
f»  Hiitorj  of  Rone. 
Geoige  Baker,  ft 
ortrait.  [Claaical 
)a.24,U,36,97,AM.] 
FS. — ^Herodutuf'i  Gen> 
r.  Traiwlatad  bjr  Rev. 
leloe.  3  vol*.  ISmt, 
Ulaaaioal  Library,  Naa. 
31.] 


Po 


0RE8S  OF  m».— 
I  Sitrnen  of  tka  Deela> 
ndepandenca.  By  N. 
Smo. 

SUMMBRFIELD.— 
r.  Jcdm  SwnmerfiaU. 
and,  Etq,  With  addi- 
Btiona  from  hit  Corta- 

Svo.    Cin  preaa-I 
ARD  FITZOERALa 
I  aad  Death  of  Lord 
tinrald.    Br  Thanaa 
roU.  Itao.   Portrait. 

HE  TRAVELLER.— 

imaim  of  Edward  Daa^ 

By  Rar.  William  Ot> 


* 


AND  THE  "WES 
LND-nRATE.''—Hi»- 

(U  A.  Stewart,  aad  Ida 
lA  Captniiag  and  Ex* 
}raat<<WealemLaad- 
Ihif  Gang:  aiaoofth*; 
lAoMOM.  aad  Jhao«- 
imber  of  Monwl'a  Aa- 
lao  of  Iha  Esoeatioa  ^f 
It  Viokabaick  ia  ISU. 


I  WASHINGTON. 

ligiou  OaiaieBa  aad 
of  WadunctoBi  By 
MHIuire.    ISmo. 

lOIIANCERS.— Livao 
roaMBoen ;  or,  aa  Ac 
I  moat  aaiinaBt  Penona 
liva  Am,  who  have 
thaouwlvei,  or  to  whom 
anwted  by  othan,  the 
Mai^  Power.  By 
Mlwio. 

NAPARTE.-M«mdita 
Bon^Nurta  (PriiiM  af 
Itmo. 

KBAN.-Life  of  Bd- 
I.  Br  Barry  Comwtfl 
cter,  Beq.).    ISno 


